Emotionally Unavailable or Not
by CastleHHR
Summary: Harry and his brother are orphans left in the care of the Dursley's. Their new neighbor becomes their Savior in so many ways. Harry grows up being socially awkward (you choose). An unforeseen circumstance split our friends and they re-unite 15 years later. See how Harry handles family and love whilst being 'emotionally unavailable'. I SUCK AT SUMMARIES.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all, It's been a while. So I decided to pen another H/Hr fic if you don't ship them, please turn away now… Okay so I've pretty much have this fic down, but may be tweaked here and there. It's not a long fic (This is love), will try to keep it under 10 chapters. Would love some R&R. Please enjoy.

**Summary**

Harry and his brother are orphans left in the care of the Dursley's. There new neighbour becomes their saviour in so many ways. Harry grows up being socially awkward (you choose). An unforeseen circumstance split our friends and they re-unite 15 years later. See how Harry handles family and love whilst being 'emotionally unavailable'. I SUCK AT SUMMARIES. WARNING! Smut, fluff and stupidity galore.

**Disclaimer**… I don't own Harry Potter; don't make money from it… Just like dabbling in the Wizarding World

**Twenty something years ago**

James and Lily watched their three year old son meet his baby brother for the first time. His innocent emerald eyes, widened in awe as they fell on his little brother, "he's sooo tiny momma" he said reaching out and delicately touching the baby's cheek, afraid to hurt him.

"Yes he is sweetheart. And he will need a lot of our attention until he's big and strong like his big brother. We will be spending a lot of time with the baby, but that doesn't mean that we don't love you. In fact we will need you to help us be the best big brother ever" Lily cooed and she kissed her elders head.

"How?" he asked in wonder.

"Well, you would have to be there for him, protect him from anyone who would harm him. You would have love and care for him as much as we do. Do you think you would be able to do that lad?"

The boy smiled at his brother and nodded, "me be bes' big brother ever. I promise!"

Later that night Harry awoke to a huge commotion and then loud shriek that came from the lounge. He sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes and then he heard a bang and then silence. He waited for his mum and dad, but they never came. After waiting close to an hour, sleep soon overcame him.

"Harry, sweet boy, get up" he heard a woman say as he groggily rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "That's a good boy" the woman said as he sat up, looking around the room, which were filled with strangers.

"Momma, dada?" his lips trembled as anxiousness threatened to overwhelm him.

"Your mummy and daddy are not here right now sweet heart. You and your little brother are going to live with your aunt for a few days" the woman started but was soon interrupted.

"Kay, will momma and dada come?" he frowned

"We'll see sweetheart" the woman said and the boy nodded.

That evening Harry and his baby brother found themselves in the custody of their maternal aunt in Surrey. This would become their home for the next nine years.

At the tender age of five, Harry stepped into the role of parent for little Daniel Potter because his aunt and uncle treated them worse than vermin, which had infected their home. His cousin Dudley, he same age as him, used every opportunity to physically hurt Harry and Daniel, a habit he picked up from his father. Harry could barely remember what his life was like prior to their move but he would always remember the words of his mother every time they tried to hurt Daniel and would stand up and defend his little brother. He fought back once earning him a broken rib courtesy of Vernon Dursley.

After a day of gruelling chores and taking care of Daniel, they would both retire to their 'bedroom', the cupboard under the stairs, whilst the Dursley's enjoyed a hearty meal. When Daniel cried in hunger, Vernon would threaten Harry, "Boy you best keep that freak quiet or you will both be going to bed hungry or worse, sleeping in the outhouse tonight" Harry would pacify his brother the best he could.

Apart from Daniel, Harry had no friends and when it came time for him to go to school, Dudley ensured that none of the children went anywhere near him constantly calling him a freak and other derogatory names and the some kids just laughed at him.

He didn't mind as much as he was always preoccupied with his brother and what those vile people would be doing to him. He did however catch the eye of a domineering young girl around his age. She would look up at him with curiosity when she thought he wasn't looking. He didn't think much of it, thinking it was just another person looking at the freak.

Later that week, when he was called out to assist his aunt in the garden, he had got a good look at the neighbours and noticed the same curious eyes staring back at him. He tried to look away when she caught him staring but what stopped him was the fact that she smiled at him and waved. At first he looked behind him to make sure she was smiling at him and then reluctantly waved back. She smiled brightly and ran back into her house not realising that this would be the starting of a beautiful friendship.

**Back to the present**

"Sir, can I get you something else to drink?" the bartender asked.

"Yeah, another and make it a double" the man with emerald eyes said.

Harry Potter, the wizarding world's most eligible bachelor, Head of House Potter, Top 5 of the World's wealthiest people alive to name a few good ones. Only those closest to him knew of his wealth. He was the mastermind and silent owner of the best Wizarding broomstick brand in the world, the Thunderbolt, easily surpassing the Fire bolt and Nimbus series by a long shot. He had designed brooms for all applications from military, sport to leisure.

He drew inspiration from his family, who were all flying specialists. He himself became the youngest seeker to play for the legendary Gryffindor team but his love for the game slightly diminished as it brought unnecessary fame that he hadn't wanted or needed. With the upbringing that he had endured, he was an introverted individual. He hated being around large crowds of people, he never expressed his emotions like ordinary people would and he loath when women threw themselves at him.

He had a few disastrous relationships which were short lived because he was emotionally unavailable. Everyone he ever loved had left him when he was younger and he grew believing that it would always happen. He had his brother and godfather so far it was all he needed in his life.

He was currently in France for a series of meetings with potential clients and investors. The meeting had gone well however the features of the broom designs were never attempted before and would require modifications to his charms and required a charms specialist, something he wasn't. He had a few very competent people working for him however this was something different. If he could pull of this design, it would revolutionise flying.

"Perhaps he could ask Professor Dumbledore. He knew powerful people across the world. He did owe him after everything he'd been through" he thought to himself as he gulped down his drink.

He stepped out and breathed in the fresh seaside air in Cannes, sighing as he walked down the promenade, glancing at the variety of stores lining the path. He pulled out his phone and made a few calls, arranging for his godfather to contact the Hogwarts headmaster, if anyone knew masters in the art, it would be the wrinkly old bat. Further down the path he saw a quaint bookshop and it reminded him so much of his childhood friend, so he went in. He took in the atmosphere of the shop and without the shadow of a doubt reminded him of her.

Everything she described her bookshop to be was present, down to the fireplace and sofa's surrounding it. He glanced at the sign and smiled fondly, an otter wearing glasses with a cup of coffee, The Silver Otter, it read. His heart almost stopped when he saw the brunette behind the counter. He gulped and stupidly wiped his palms on his pants and made his way to the counter.

"Hello… Er Bonjour" he stammered

"Bonjour. Que puis-je vous obtenir?" she responded whilst pouring a cup of coffee, with her back to him.

"Hermione?" he stammered and she stiffened and slowly turned around.

"Pardon, excusez moi? She asked confused, staring at the handsome customer.

"Je vous demande pardon. I thought you were someone I knew" he apologised profusely and walked out embarrassed.

It happened often these days in the Muggle world, he would walk up to brunettes that reminded him of her and would embarrass himself. He was Harry Potter for crying out loud, confident (boarding arrogant) and most eligible bachelor in the Wizarding world. He cursed himself and walked off.

A few days later he was found himself in the city of Pau, finishing another series of meetings in the beautiful city. The city was near Beauxbatons so there was a mix of muggles and wizarding kind in that lived in the city. He always found it refreshing to take a long walks after eventful meetings, it eased his mind. He passed the Boulevard des Pyrenees and marvelled at the architecture, not many people knew that he actually enjoyed mundane things every now and then. He spotted an oddly familiar face in the distance and couldn't quite make out; she walked briskly wearing a beige jacket. His curiosity got the better of him and followed her.

The woman had dark strawberry blond hair with highlights, in soft waves and was around 5.5ft. He knew this would only land him in hot water, like his younger self, he acted out impulsively and tread on. He followed her discretely until the woman walked into a shop. He was oddly surprised at the sign that hung above the door of the shop, The Silver Otter. "Must be a chain store" he thought to himself as he approached the store.

As he entered the shop and scanned the shop, he froze as he found the woman sitting at the fire place with a book and a cup of coffee. He couldn't stop his feet if he wanted to as he walked up to her.

"Hermione?" she looked up pushing her hair back and Harry, for the first time in his adult life, was blown away at the sight of a woman.

She was stunned. She couldn't believe her eyes "It can't be" she whispered tears began to fill her eyes, "Harry? Harry Potter?" she asked and he nodded.

She stood up and took in all of him; "look at you!" she gave a watery chuckle and hugged him.

He stiffened at the gesture but immediately relented and held on to her and inhaled the scent of her hair. "It's been too long" he whispered into her hair.

After a few seconds they let go and Harry really looked at her, she had grown into a beautiful woman, her hair was tamed into beautiful soft curls compared to when she were younger and her teeth were smaller? But nothing compared to the warmth of her deep brown eyes, the kindness that shone through them even as a child. She hadn't changed.

"Oh my goodness Harry, How have you been? How's Daniel? Gosh, I have so many questions" she smiled wiping her eyes and he chuckled.

"Some things never change hey Hermione?" she smirked as she lightly punched his shoulder.

"Are you here alone?" she asked and he nodded, unwilling to go into details because the last time he saw Hermione; he never knew about Hogwarts and magic.

"Yes actually, I'm in town for a meeting. Just finished and heading back to my hotel" she smiled not knowing that she was stalked all the way here.

"Then you wouldn't mind joining me, I'd really love to catch up" she looked at him with pleading eyes and after an internal battle he relented and she gave him one of her megawatt smiles, which he returned. He sat on the sofa near hers, which she apparently reserved, and thought about how easily he allowed her in, as if the walls he had were non-existent, he quickly squashed those thoughts.

After being seated, she spoke, "It's been 15 years and you just look, just wow"

"14 years, 8 months to be exact" he smiled and she nodded, "off course"

"How is Daniel?" she asked and he smiled

"You see me after 14 years and 8 months and all you care about is the wellbeing of my little brother? Really Mione? I thought you would want all the gory details of my life" he teased and she blushed.

"To my defence, he was as much my little brother as he was yours" she smirked and they sobered.

"I did call and write Harry, every week. I received no response, until one day. Your aunt told me that you had moved out and that you never wanted anything to do with any of us. I wasn't sure what she meant but I was hurt and so I stopped trying to contact you. I am so sorry" she said looking down at her hands and Harry grit his teeth as the horrors of his childhood resurfaced.

"Can we please not talk about them?" he growled and she agreed after seeing that it still affected him, even after all these years. 'Things must have been a lot worse after she left' she thought.

"So tell me more about your life Harry? Dating? Married? Kids? Work? I want to know everything" she said and he nodded.

"Well I'm single; no kids thank heavens; I'm sort of a sales rep, if that's what you want to call it and Daniel is doing great, he is an avid sport enthusiast and he's a traveling sport writer. He's actually engaged; no wedding date set yet. I think he's a bit too young though, I mean he's only 22. He should enjoy life first before settling down, he says that I need to grow up and settle down. Can you believe that?" he asked getting all of that out in one breath and she laughed.

"You sound like my dad Harry, if he's happy, then you should let him be. Unless the girl he chose is not worthy, then I would also have serious reservations" she said thoughtfully.

"No Mione, Alexia is amazing, I couldn't ask for anyone better. It's just, I don't know" he sighed and Hermione smiled.

"How have you been? What has my best friend been up to?" he asked with a warm smile.

"Well since the move to France, I went to a private school for gifted children, made Head girl and graduated top of my class" she said nonchalantly and Harry looked proud almost.

"I always knew you would do great. I mean you helped both Dan and I so…" he shrugged and she blushed at his praise.

"I am the owner of a chain of bookshops all over France called The Silver Otter" she smiled and he nodded, impressed.

"I always knew you would do great things, I mean at 25 and an owner of a chain of bookshops, wow. I've been at the one in Cannes; it somehow reminded me of you so I went in. It was exactly how you described you wanted your bookshop to be" he said and she was stunned.

"You actually remembered that?" she asked and he shrugged saying it was no big deal.

"How are your parent's?" he asked and she smiled

"They are great, they love it here in France and I don't think they would ever leave. Apart from pestering me for grandchildren to dot on, they are just great" she smiled

They spoke a great deal more and avoided touchy subjects. Even though they had spent nearly 15 years apart, Hermione could still read Harry like a book.

Harry received a call and had to excuse himself and made his way outside. He ended up leaving the table for close to twenty minutes and Hermione went out to find him. He was so engrossed in his conversation he didn't notice her sit beside him with her handbag and her jacket. He gave her a wry smile and returned it with a smile of her own. After an intense few minutes later he ended his call and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, it was an important call" he said and she shrugged saying work was important.

"So can I escort you home?" he asked giving her his arm. After a few seconds she took it and they walked down the pavement towards her apartment. They spoke more about her life and how difficult she found it building a new life with her family when they arrived and surprisingly Harry was hooked unto every word. Usually he would have run a mile when women wanted to or tried to get close, but then again this was Hermione, the girl who was literally their guardian angel.

By the end of the night, she had Harry changing his plans and spending the week in Pau. She had promised to show him all of her favourite sites and things he would certainly be interested in. He also got to speak to her parents and they were thrilled to have reconnected after all this time. Mrs Granger gushed about Harry growing into such a handsome young man, which made him Harry blush, to his mortification. He also met her grandparents and a host of family and friends. Her grandparents were excited that they finally got to meet her 'first boyfriend' which she quickly corrected. He felt slightly put out when she corrected them but quickly squashed the idea.

He felt like a new person hanging out with Hermione. He learned more about her life and became a regular at the bookshop. His week extended to a month and funnily enough long to spend her birthday with her.

"So Jacque, he's your boyfriend?" Harry asked curiously and she frowned.

"Jacque? Bonte non. He's just an employee, an acquaintance" she chuckled.

"He seems awfully close to you, so I naturally assumed that he was your boyfriend" he shrugged and she chuckled.

"Well he's not. I'm not seeing anyone, just focused on my business and few side projects I'm going to be working on. I genuinely don't have time for relationship, especially if I'm not one hundred percent committed" she said and he nodded understandingly.

"I know what you mean. I had two disastrous relationships and since then I've decided I'm not going to get involved, I've got a few tags; One of them being emotionally unavailable. I'm fine with it though. Don't get me wrong, I do date from time to time, but I make it perfectly clear that they should expect nothing more that dinner and a good kip" he chuckled and she punched his shoulder and he laughed.

"So what do you have planned for your birthday, this Friday?" he asked

"Some friends of mine suggested we head out clubbing for the night" she said looking really put out

"Why do I get the feeling that you really don't like the night life?" he asked

"Harry, in the short time that we spent together, when did my lifestyle ever indicate that?" she deadpanned and he shrugged.

"But it's your birthday, why spend it doing something you don't enjoy?" he asked and she shrugged.

"These are some of my friends from school; it's sort of like a reunion. How could I say no? Besides a few drinks never hurt anyone" she shrugged.

"Well if it makes you happy" he smiled and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry I won't be around, but if you will allow it, I would to like make it up to you when I return from my meeting?" he asked and she nodded saying she would like that. He walked her to her apartment and bid her farewell.

Harry had made a several calls to get Hermione the perfect birthday gift. He knew that he would never, on God's green earth, go out on a limb for any woman. But this was Hermione, his oldest and dearest friend. Being re-acquainted with her after all these years helped to get to know her on a more serious level. Tis a pity that she wasn't magical; there's so much we wished to reveal to her. He could but he wasn't sure how she would react and he didn't wish to oblivate her.

Hermione was busy getting ready for her night out and looked at herself in the mirror. She was neither a pinup model nor beautiful in the aesthetic sense but she didn't look bad in her red knee length strapless dress. Her makeup was natural and considering she went to school with French beauties, she learned a thing or two. She threw on a jacket and was ready to leave when her doorbell rang.

She answered the door was surprised to find a courier, "Bonjour, J'ai une livraison pour Hermione Granger?"

"C'est moi" she said and he signalled to the delivery van. Two other men carried bouquets of lilies and white roses, with baby breaths. They handed her a beautifully decorated periwinkle coloured box. She quickly signed and thanked them.

She kicked the door closed and carried the rather weighty box into her lounge and placed it on her coffee table before quickly placing the flowers in vases. She wondered who could possibly send her such a beautiful gift and quickly found a card.

"Happy birthday, HJP" was all that was written and she smiled at the sweet gesture. She looked at the box and her curiosity got the better of her. She gently opened the bow, almost afraid to damage the beauty of the box in any way. But what lay within it blew her away, sitting delicately in the padded box, lay the complete works of Jane Austen; first edition.

Awestruck, she gently caressed the spine of Pride and prejudice, her favourite book of all times. This was the first time that anyone, other than her parents, gave anything so amazing. She was on the verge of tears, that emotionally unavailable man just made her day. Before she could call him to thank him, her door burst open and her friends came in and hogged her attention.

"Hermione; who is this man that would give you such a beautiful gift? He must love you very much" they asked in a rush and she blushed telling them it was only a friend.

"Non, no friend would give another such an expensive and thoughtful gift. He definitely likes you more than a friend" they said adamantly and Hermione brushed it off and she that there was nothing more than friendship, not very convincingly. Eventually they made their way to the night club.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi all, New chapter, new rating. That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some RR. Please enjoy.

**Disclaimer**… I don't own Harry Potter; don't make money from it… Just like dabbling in the Wizarding World

It was late Friday night and it bothered Harry no end that he didn't hear from Hermione, sure it was her birthday but a 'thank you' message would have been enough he thought sulkily.

He stared out the window as the rain hit against the window and remembered Hermione's insecurities as a child and how desperate she was to making friends.

Unlike him, she longed to be accepted by the children her age that she forced herself to do things out of her comfort zone, which was until she met Harry.

Harry remembered how she would sneak them food when the Dursley's had either gone away or simply just starved them for some obscene reason.

He remembered how angry and embarrassed he was with her when she told her parents about their living nightmare. He hadn't spoken to her for days and she was distraught.

She cried all the time and his little brother didn't speak to him, saying that she didn't mean any harm and that he hurt her because she thought they were no longer friends.

After a lot of pleading, she forgave him and he even let her parent's dot on them from time to time, without the knowledge of their guardians.

He was pulled from his musing when his phoned buzzed. He was mildly surprised to see it was Hermione. 'Better late than never' he mumbled, however the message baffled him. 'dacing dandrago. Com nw' it read and he wasn't sure if he should laugh or worry.

Firstly; there was no way Hermione would send a message with this many grammatical errors to anyone, let alone him.

Secondly; she had to be drunk to send message; a drunken Hermione is probably a volatile Hermione, which would not end well. He didn't want her to be in any sort of trouble or have some random guy taking advantage of her.

Actually, he definitely didn't want any guy around her, period, 'blimey, where did that come from?' he paused.

He dialed Hermione and instead of hearing her voice he heard blearing music and not much else.

"Hermione, Can you hear me? Just stay where you are, I'm coming to get you" he said and quickly called for a town car.

With that he donned his jacket looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He usually wasn't causal in dressing in the wizarding world, hell people often referred to him as Draco Malfoy's twin.

He'd always wore three piece suits and wore a slick brush back with loads of product keeping it slick and in place. In the muggle world though, he was free from the boundaries to be a normal good looking bloke dressed in fitting jeans, equally fitting t-shirt, showing off his physique and a sports blazer. With that thought he ruffled his hair and his took his wallet before he walked out of his hotel room.

He climbed into car and made his way to the night club called they Durango. As they pulled up to the street on which the club was; there was a queue of people that ended half a block away, just waiting to get in. He groaned and the driver chuckled at his reaction to the line.

"This is a very popular club sir" he chuckled and Harry sighed.

"You wouldn't happen to know a quick way to get in, would you?" he half asked and the driver looked at him with curiosity.

"You see a friend of mine might be in trouble and she's in there" he sighed

"She must be very special to you" he said in his thick French accent.

"Either that or I'm a complete idiot being lead on a very wild goose chase" he mumbled.

"The bouncer is my cousin, I can get you in but it will cost you" he said and Harry perked up.

"Sure that's not a problem" he responded and the driver pulled off to the side and got off with Harry and spoke to the bouncer; an exchange was made and Harry found inside the vibrant nightclub.

It felt like an ancient ruins with music bumping and lights flashing. He understood why this was so popular, it was amazing. He scanned the crowd for his brunette friend as he walked over to the bar.

"Can I get you something to drink?" the bar tender asked and he requested a double scotch.

"Anything else? He asked as he served him his drink.

"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to have seen a brunette, about 5.5, deep brown eyes. Should have been with an entourage, it's her birthday" sipping drink he looked around trying to spot the curly haired woman.

"You mean the group we almost kicked out for climbing on the deejay table, then yes I have, they are on a time out" he chuckled and Harry looked confused.

"Go through there" he said pointing at a glass door, "They'll be in the lounge" he said and went on to serve another customer as Harry made off with his drink.

He stepped past the glass door and saw red as his eyes fell on a tall blond hitting on Hermione and practically throwing himself on her and she fought to push him off.

"Back away from the lady you French baguette" he growled and the man could barely sit straight let alone speak. Hermione saw Harry and brightened up immediately; though she didn't fare any better and on wobbly feet, she stood up and made her way to Harry.

"Harry, you came. Let's dance" she slurred and Harry tried to pull her drink away.

"You had too many Hermione. That's enough" he said and she huffed petulantly.

"You're no fun. It's my birthday" she hiccupped

"You've had your fun now let's get you home" he said.

"You're not my father! Besides I have my friend here" she said trying to find them but failing miserably.

"Really and where are they?" he teased her patronising her.

She narrowed her eyes at him and clicked her tongue at him, "Now, let's get you home before you get yourself in trouble" he said escorting her out of the lounge towards the exit. She glanced at one of her friends on the dance floor and quickly ducked and escaped before Harry could look up.

He groaned and watched as she swayed to the beat with her friend, so free and flowing, enjoying herself with not a care in the world. He contemplated throwing her over his shoulder and taking her home but saw that the bar was a few steps away from him. He could keep an eye out for her from there and it will give her time to enjoy herself, so we went over.

He tossed back several drinks before realising Hermione had a few guys dancing around her and her friends and decided that this would end ugly if he didn't intervene soon. So he had one more drink before making his way towards the dance floor.

"Harry, dance with me" she pleaded and Harry wondered how on earth she had this much energy even after all that dancing.

"I don't dance Hermione" she huffed and turned to dance with the guy to her left so Harry immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him he then spun her in his arms and pulled her flush against his chest.

She grasped when he held her hips and guided her to a suave sway. She placed a hand over her shoulder and held his head and placed the other on the over the hand that was on her hip.

They danced rather provocatively, swaying to the music; to the point of them grinding against each other. Hermione turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he pulled her flush against him and they continued swaying.

"You have very strong hands Harry" she said has she gently ran her hands up and down his arms and his eyes darkened.

"Your muscles are really hard" she said feeling her way down his pecks over his jacket and he his pupils dilated.

"You're playing with fire woman" he growled and she smirked. Taking that as a challenge she pulled his shirt out of his pants and subtly slipped her hands up his abdomen and he closed his eyes and grabbing her hands before she did something that would land them both in trouble.

Women usually would do far less that this and he would easily give them more than they bargained for but this was Hermione. With every smirk, with every touch and movement she made, his self-control was weaning and the woman was persistent.

"What are you afraid off?" she asked and he was stunned. Who was this woman and where was all this coming from? He thought

"You don't know what you're doing Her.." he started but was cut off as she kissed him hard.

His mind shut down and all thoughts of Hermione, his childhood friend disintegrated and were replaced with lust and need. The alcohol had numbed his brain and his ability to be rational flew out the window and only one thing was clear, he had to have her and he was growing harder by the second.

He returned her kiss ardently, tasting everything that she had to offer and he devoured her mouth. He pulled away albeit reluctantly and took in the sight and what a sight it had been. He took her by her hand and pulled her through the crowd and out of the club. He led her to the car and they were on their way.

Harry ran his hands up and down her thigh the entire ride and occasionally kissed her hand. When they reached the hotel, Hermione pulled out his wallet and threw the driver a 100Euros and pulled Harry out the car before he could thank the driver, who was chuckling. "Special friend indeed" he laughed.

The way to his suite was a mission, between kissing and caressing but they eventually made it.

Hermione opened the door and pulled Harry inside. She undid his jacket and dropped it to the ground and stepped back eyeing him sultrily. He ran his thumb across her swollen lips before capturing it in another blistering kiss, sliding his hands to the front of her top and he ripped it open.

He ushered her backwards towards the bed and divested himself of his shirt in the process.

He kissed her neck and moved kissing her mounds over her lace clad breasts and moved down to her stomach and unbuttoned her jeans. He then pulled them off roughly. He really wished he could have used magic because right now he wanted nothing more than to be inside her until they both came.

He removed her bra and stared hungrily at her luscious breasts, he licked his lips in anticipation at the feast that waited and oh how he was going to enjoy this. He never once imagined anything inappropriate towards Hermione, but after today she will be the object of his fantasies. Hermione was writhing and moaning loudly adding fuel to his already raging fire.

He grasped her teats and gently massaged them and after a few moments of caressing her he finally tasted her; tasting each nipple, teasing until they were hardened peaks.

Hermione grasped his head as he molested her teats. He moved lower, gently pushing her knees apart. He looked up at her and held her foot in his hands and licked her slit. She tried to jerk her legs away but he held her firmly. He licked and sucked on her clit hard as she thrashed above him. She couldn't fathom the sensations Harry was creating and thrashed wildly under him.

He continued his assault until she was weeping into his mouth. He gladly licked her essence as she came down from her high. She was bordering oblivion, with the toll of the alcohol and the mind numbing orgasm she just experienced.

He climbed back up onto her and kissed her hard, the entire night had built up to this moment and he sure as hell wasn't going to ask if she was sure. He slid his cock up and down her slit, lubricating himself with her juices. She moaned and thrust against him.

He threaded their fingers and he slipped into her tight channel in one hard thrust. Making them both cry out. The intrusion for Hermione was overwhelming and for Harry, heaven. Harry wasted no time in burying himself in her over and over.

Hermione closed her eyes as her jaw dropped, able to say anything coherent as he penetrated her so deep, she felt her body split in two as she held her breathe and she felt him moving in and out of her roughly.

She wasn't sure what to expect but what she did know that she was no longer the innocent young woman she was at the start of the evening. She gripped his shoulders and clawed in and waited until the pain subsided.

It took several minutes until he felt her meeting his thrusts; he began ramming into her harder and harder with each thrust, punishing her for teasing him all night. He lifted himself off her and placed her legs on is waist as he gripped her hips and forced her downwards on his upward thrusts. His thrusts became so hard, that the headboard was knocking against the wall.

He reached down and mauled her teats with his mouth the best he could and Hermione at this point was incoherently spewing words out of her mouth, her eyes rolled into the back of her head as Harry continued his assault. She could hear him grunting her name and other obscenities that she had never heard from him.

He felt his end approaching he picked up the pace and watched as she almost past out from the intensity of the orgasm overtaking her, which steered him on as he penetrated her a few more times until he came hard inside her. He kissed her as his thrusts winded down. He pulled out and fell beside her.

Both instantly fell asleep with the buzz of mind blowing orgasms and alcohol coursing through their veins.

The next morning Harry groaned with a pounding headache, 'what I wouldn't do for a hangover potion right now' he thought. He looked down and found himself naked and groaned his head pounding even more.

He didn't get a good look at the sleeping figure beside him when he lazily accioed his boxers, slipped them on and got out of the bed. He grabbed a glass of water and found a few aspirin and had it. He sat at the fire place and wordlessly started the fire and tried to rack his brain for memories.

He remembered the meeting, having a few drinks, coming back here, waiting for Hermione to contact him and then she did. He remembered going to the nightclub and she was being hit on. He brushed off the guys and then, the dance and then kissing and then they came back here, he looked up in horror at the sleeping form on his bed.

Hermione, he slept with Hermione. He held his head incredulously, what he had just done? He had sex with his friend, on her birthday no less.

He was terrible at this, what was he going do? He couldn't ask her to leave, like he would have done any other floozy, this was Hermione. What if she expected him to be her boyfriend? Could he? Did he want to be?

No! He was not interested in any form of a relationship, a good fuck here and there, no strings attached is what he was all about, it was what he was looking for; he wouldn't lead Hermione on like that, she deserved better.

He promised himself he would never cross that line with her, despite the warmth he would feel in his heart during their time together, he just didn't want to lose her.

Hermione moaned and slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she realized was her body aching all over especially between her legs. The second thing she realized was that she was not in her bedroom; alarms started ringing in her head as she sat up in panic and looked around for any clue as to where she was.

What she did notice was she that she was naked and when she peaked under, she found a spot of dried blood on the sheet, testament to the loss of her innocence. She grasped when she looked up and saw Harry sitting across the room with his fingers to his temples.

"Harry" she croaked and his head snapped up at her voice.

"Mione, I… I don't" he stammered and she couldn't hold back the tears.

"I took advantage of you" he whispered as he carefully made his way towards the bed.

She could see how terrible he felt, for what though, she wasn't sure; he really didn't feel anything for her other than friendship, which was a blow to her heart. Sure she denied the fact that she had harbored anything other than platonic feelings towards him, but deep down she knew she had been falling for her green eyed friend. He came into her life and turned it upside down.

She was a big girl, she could see why he was the way he was, he was scarred from years of deep seeded emotional abuse at the hands of his relatives. She needed to put her heartache aside and face the reality regardless of the mess she had created.

She took his hand and pulled him down to sit beside her. "We both were really drunk last night, if memory serves me right, I was pretty much the initiator. If there's anyone to blame, it's me" she said swallowing the lump forming in her throat.

"No, I should have handled it better. You're my friend, Mione. Not some floozy. I was really rough with you last night. You deserve to be treated like a queen, loved, cherished not a roll in the sheet and tossed aside. I'm so sorry that it was me" he said softly and she was a mess.

He really did care for her and on some level. He was right about one thing, he was rough with her and she enjoyed it, for the most part anyway. What was she saying? He literally split her in two with that..that.. thing!

"I'm not sorry that it was you Harry" she started and he looked at her sceptically and was about to retort when she held her hand up to stop him.

"I know that you're, as you say, emotionally unavailable and that you think that I'm probably looking for a relationship and that's not who you are. I get that, I do and I have no expectation of you. Just that you always be my Harry; my friend. And like I said, I'm glad it was you and not some other drunk from the club" she croaked and he nodded unable to look at her when she said that she wanted nothing to come of it, it felt like a punch to the gut really.

What did he expect? She gave him exactly what he wanted, but why did he feel like he lost something valuable?

"Can I get a hug?" she asked shyly and he pulled her into his arms and held onto her for dear life.

After several minutes, she moved away from him, missing the warmth of his body immediately.

"I have to get home" she whispered and he nodded.

"You could have breakfast before you leave, have a shower while I arrange room service"

he said moving to the other room. She looked at his receding form and blushed as she spotted scratch marks on his back.

Harry returned to the bedroom whilst she had a shower, he spotted the blood and froze. He remembered how tight she was when he first entered her but never had he imagined that she was innocent. He was so rough with her; he remembered pounding into her so hard, that the headboard was literally knocking the wall. That alone had him growing hard; he shook off the thoughts, grabbing the sheets, he dumped them in the hamper and left the room.

They had breakfast in a semi-awkward silence. Hermione thanked him for everything and left. Everything she did had him aroused, from the syrup she licked, to the sausage she bit into. She had made him so hard that he had a cold shower right afterwards.

The week went by fast and Harry had concluded his final meeting in France and Sirius had successfully acquired the service of the best charms master, according to Dumbledore. He was leaving France and leaving Hermione, they never did meet after sleeping together but they did chat over the phone.

That made him miserable; he would probably only ever see her in the distant future. He couldn't imagine what his life would be like without her when he got back to London. He didn't have a single friend that he could relate to; Hermione was just different in so many ways. Not to mention she had ruined sex for him, any woman he touched in the future would never measure up and to thing he was her first.

He packed up his luggage and shrunk them down. He was going to take a port key back to London in the morning; he couldn't handle a long flight right now. He had the town car drop him off at Hermione's apartment and with a bouquet of her favorite flowers; he quickly sent the driver off and knocked on her door.

"Harry, what a pleasant surprise" she said as she ushered him in.

"These are for you" he said and handed her the bouquet, which she gratefully took.

"Thank you, they're beautiful" she said and he shrugged.

"Would you like something to drink? Wine?" she offered.

"Yeah, sure. Do you know this is actually the first time I've been to your place? It's so you" he smiled

"Thanks, so what's the occasion?" she blushed.

Placing the wine on the table in front of him, "Actually, I've come to say goodbye. I'm leaving France in the morning" he started and she was silent.

"Leaving" she stammered and he nodded.

"Yeah, I've concluded my business meetings so technically I don't have anything keeping me here" he said nonchalantly and she stared at him wide eyed.

"I mean, work related" he quickly recovered and she nodded.

"Would you like to stay for supper? I could order in" she asked

"I wouldn't want to impose" he said lamely but he wanted nothing more than to spend more time with her.

"Please Harry, for old times' sake. I didn't properly thank you for that beautiful book set. It must have cost you a fortune, while I say you shouldn't have. I absolutely love it" she said picking up a takeaway menu and dialing.

Harry watched her as she moved gracefully through the kitchen and his thoughts quickly returned to the club and how the danced together. How good her body felt grinding against his groin and how good she felt around his cock.

"How do you like it Harry?" he heard her asking

"Same as the last time, rough" he said smirked absentmindedly and she frowned.

"What? Harry I asked how you would like your pizza?" she hit him with the menu snapping him out of whatever daydream he was having.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Whatever you like is fine" he said quickly and surreptitiously adjusted his pants which became uncomfortably tight.

After enjoying the pizza and a bottle of wine, they were idly chatting about their respective futures and Harry smiled at the book set he got her as a gift for her birthday, proudly displayed in her bookcase. "I never got around to truly thank you for my gift Harry. It was tad much, I mean it must have cost you a fortune" she smiled coyly at him.

"I told you before Hermione, it was nothing. I don't think I've ever openly spoken to anyone other than you" he chuckled, "And I will deny it should you ever tell anyone about this" she chuckled.

"I told you a few days ago that you deserve to treated like a queen and nothing less. You mean a great deal to me Hermione and even though we ended up doing what we did and it still kills me that you lost something precious so thoughtlessly, I truly wish it would have gone better. The gift is something I thought you would love and while it was a mission to acquire, you deserve it and so much more. I truly hope that you will find someone who will love you and treasure you the way you deserve to" he said passionately, absentmindedly rubbing the back of her hand with his thumbs.

Hermione was so lost in his eyes and the truth that shone through. She knew for a fact that Harry was always reserved with his emotions, especially as a child so whatever he had now revealed had to her must have been true and spoken with great difficulty. She gently cupped his face and smiled, "thank you Harry, it means the world coming from you and these past few weeks was amazing being with you" she said earnestly and he nodded leaning into her hand.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes, each second the air getting thicker as they both alternated their glances from each other's eyes to their lips. Harry wasn't sure who closed the distance but he was sure it was him; he had captured her lips in a slow sensual kiss. He couldn't contain himself when she reciprocated with equal vigor. He wanted no needed more.

His hands gently found its way under her shirt, caressing her soft skin, setting her body ablaze. She moaned when he grazed the underside of her breasts. He pulled her flush against his chest and had her straddling him.

She threw her head back when he attacked her neck, licking and nipping at every patch of skin he could find. She grabbed his head and attacked his mouth and when air became a necessity, they broke apart. "Bedroom" she whispered breathlessly and he knew had been granted his desire. He picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, as she directed him the best she could while they battled for dominance.

He placed her at the edge of the four poster bed and slowly rid her of every offending piece of clothing that prevented him access to her mellifluous skin.

She smiled as she felt his member press against her stomach. Harry hand gently caressed her deliciously round ass as he picked her up and gently laid her on the bed. They kissed ardently as he cupped her breasts and gently kneaded them.

Hermione let out a deep moan as he caressed her nipples with his thumb. He kissed her neck, then her jaw, and then moved to her collar-bone and ever so gently to her breasts.

He licked her nipple slowly as he let the tip of his tongue circle her erect bud while his hand worked the other, drawing an almost feral moan from Hermione. He descended slowly to her abdomen leaving a trail of open mouth kisses.

He placed his hands on her legs and slowly moved them apart causing Hermione to turn away from him in embarrassment. She was sober now and it was different, everything was different.

"You're beautiful….all of you" he said as he kissed her inner thigh. He came up and kissed her passionately, "You have nothing to be ashamed of" he assured her as he went down to his desired destination.

He placed open mouth kisses on her inner thighs moving towards her womanhood. He ran a finger through her folds, causing her to buck. He then parted her folds and awed at her womanhood, "beautiful" he whispered as he ran his tongue from her entrance to her clit, causing Hermione to clench. He let the tip of his tongue linger on her clit, teasing her.

Then he did something unexpected; he placed the base of his tongue on her clit and rocked it back and forth. Hermione was beginning to see stars as the rough texture of his tongue rubbed against her clit, it was definitely a sensation that she could get used to.

Harry then let the tip of his tease her entrance now and then. He picked up his pace bringing Hermione crashing as he gladly licked her excitement.

She was grasping for air as Harry lay beside her and started kissing her neck. She turned towards him and pulled him for a deep kiss, to which she leaned onto him and then straddled him catching his member in between her pussy and his abdomen.

He was huge; to say the least, he hung like a stallion, no wonder she could barely walk for three days. Her slickness caused his cock to easily find its way between her folds pressing against her now overly sensitive clit. Harry moaned in her mouth as he felt her slickness drench his member; she rocked his member, smiling into his mouth as they kissed. He held her hips, and with his thumbs, he started to gently rub little circles near the area were their bodies met.

Their need grew with every passing second as Harry turned them over, he was now on top. He positioned himself to enter her, as he kissed her. "Wait, protection" she whispered, he smiled and placed a kiss on her lips before rolling off her and reaching for his wallet. He slipped on a condom, which he hated, he was a Wizard and he was skilled when it came to the contraception charm. Something Sirius was adamant he learn to cast himself to avoid unwanted complications. It never stopped them from trying though.

He slipped between her legs and kissed her hard and gently rubbed himself in her slit. He could feel his head forcing its way into her as she tossed her head back arching into him. He closed his eyes and continued to push into her.

"Oh my gggg….." Hermione moaned as she bit into Harry's shoulder. Harry pulled out of her until only his head was inside her, he slowly started to thrust into her, he wouldn't go in too deep knowing that he hurt her their first time together; so he gently rocked his hips back and forth building a steady pace. He could see Hermione was starting to enjoy the feel of it because she started urging him to go faster to which he obliged. She was loosening up; he could feel it as he pumped into her as ecstasy got the better of him.

In one thrust he plunged fully into her, "fuck" he cursed as he fell onto Hermione's shoulder. Hermione yelled and grasped, clawing his back as she froze. They didn't move for what seemed like an eternity. "Are you ok..." Harry whispered as he tried to find his bearings.

Unable to trust her voice, she bit her lip and nodded. He moaned into her neck. He was about to pull out of her, when she held him in place.

"I'm ok" she said holding his face to her.

"It only hurt at that moment, I'm fine. I promise" she assured him by tenderly kissing him. They broke away.

"I won't be fine if you don't start moving though" she said teasingly.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "You'll know if you're hurting me, I'll tell you, I promise" she said.

"Promise?" he asked.

"Yes" she replied. She gently clenched around his throbbing member, urging him to move and he did, though this time he was being restrained. His thrusts were deep but agonizing slow.

He kissed Hermione with every ounce passion that was within him and Hermione was more than enjoying this side of Harry. As they continued their dance, Harry was building momentum as his thrusts became quicker.

"More Harry" Hermione urged and again he obliged. He started to plunge into her. He stared deep into her eyes as his hips rammed into her, she held onto him for dear life as she exploded on him. He slowed his thrusts to ease her out of her climax and waited as she opened her eyes and found him staring deep into hers as he smiled the smile that made her weak in the knees.

"Harry did you?" she asked as she realized that he was still inside of her and still throbbing. He just smiled and kissed her. She flipped them over as she started to rock him. She was determined to give him the pleasures that he had given her, if not, more. He held her breasts as she rode him. He intended to give her more orgasms than one of his own. He placed his thumb over her enlarged clit and rubbed furiously and within a few thrusts she came harder.

She was literally oozing with juices and Harry relished the feeling and knew that he couldn't keep it up for long. He came up and kissed her senseless.

"How is this even possible?" she breathe into his mouth.

"I want this to be the day you remember" he smiled cockily.

He gently flipped them and gave her exactly what she wanted; he unknowingly began to make love to her. He kissed her amorously as he started to work her. He kissed her neck, biting and nipping at her collar-bone as he thrusted deep into her.

She began to moan his name loudly as he began to propel faster. He was at an end as his thrusts became sloppy; he placed his hand on her clit and latched on to her nipple. He tugged on her nipple as she plummeted into oblivion and this time taking him with her. He realized that he had never worshiped a woman's body like the way he was worshiping hers. This wasn't just a fuck is thoughts halted as words tumbled out her mouth.

"How will I ever forget this? I'm making love to the man I love…." She said euphorically then froze after her admission.

He erupted deep within her and after a few jerks he pulled out of her. He lifted his head and he looked into her eyes and could see that she was horrified at the truth she had just revealed. He leapt from the bed faster than the speed of light.

"You..You're…you lo… me…love me?" he stammered already pulling up his pants without looking at her and she looked away from his intense gaze.

"Hermione, you know.." he started but was cut off when she spoke.

"Yes I get it, you don't feel worthy of love because you can't give it back. So what if I'm in love with you. It changes everything, you know I would never hurt you" she finished fervently.

"It changes nothing Hermione. I can't give you what you want, the big romance, all of that. It's just not me!" he spat and she scoffed.

"Tell me then, all of this that you've done for me, spending time with me. Did it mean nothing to you?" she asked challenging him to contradict his earlier confession and he just stared at her.

"I told you that you are dear to me. I don't want to lead you on" he finished with no heat in his voice.

"So what we just did was it just to slake your urges?" she asked dangerously calm and his heart constricted to the point of suffocating him.

He sighed, "There's a lot you don't about me and I'm not the same boy that you befriended in Surrey. I've changed and you wouldn't understand. I won't be dragged into this fantasy that people delude themselves into believing"

"Get out" she said in the same tone.

"I never want to see you again" she spat and he flinched.

"Hermione, I didn't…" he stammered looking like the lost child she left in Surrey all those years ago and she felt her heart break all over again, though this time he's taking a lot more with him.

He nodded and walked out of her bedroom and supposedly out of her life, she slumped to the ground and admonished herself for being so stupid, how could she let slip her feelings?

Harry barged into his hotel room and began gathering his things. 'How could I have been so stupid?' he berated himself. 'I should have just kept it in my pants and none of this would have happened. Hermione wouldn't have been hurt' he admonished himself as he kicked the bed.

'She said she was in love with me' he choked when he remembered her words.

"NO" he denied himself any comfort from her admission.

"I can't be loved" he said, chanting it like a mantra.

After finally driving it home, he stood up straight and created a new port-key and when it activated, he found himself back in England, his ancestral home, Potter Manor. He dropped his suitcases and walked towards the balcony. He pushed the double glass door open and breathed in the fresh country side air. Oh how he loved the beautiful sight that Potter manor beheld. He would never tire of being here. The perfectly manicured gardens, kept that way by the house elves. The fountain in the center of the garden, boasting a beautiful stag, his family sigil, flowed elegantly. Potter Manor was a haven for him. A place he could feel closer to his family.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by his beloved house elf, "Lord Harry Potter sir, yous back. Dobby is most happy that Master is home. Shall Dobby prepare master a spot of tea?"

"Dobby my old friend, it's good to be home. Yes tea would be great thanks. Though I would very much to have a shower first" he said petting the elf and he bowed.

"I shall inform Master Daniel and Master Sirius of your arrival. They be very much pleased to know Lord Harry has returned" he said and disappeared.

He sighed deeply; he was definitely not ready to meet his younger brother and Godfather.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi all, New chapter, new rating. That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some R&R. Please enjoy.

**Disclaimer**… I don't own Harry Potter; don't make money from it… Just like dabbling in the Wizarding World

"Here, the broom vibrates and loses control when the camouflage takes effect. We need to go back to the drawing board" he sighed in frustration handing the prototype to the design wizard.

His team of highly competent witches and wizards couldn't crack the charms and runes required for the design. They had spent the month trialing their prototypes but none of them came close to the desired effect.

He personally tested all trial brooms they ever produced; it wasn't because he didn't trust anyone, far from it actually. He always had a deep connection to flying and he knew exactly what he required and wouldn't accept anything less than perfection. In other words no broom, whether beginner or artillery; left until it had his personal stamp of approval.

Since his return from France he had turned all of his attention on the artillery broom project. It was a perfect distraction from the brunet which consumed his thoughts. His frustration tripled when the Charm and Runes specialist decided to cancel at the last minute. The Mage, which he goes by, had personal issues and chose to take a leave of absence. Sirius had chosen to negotiate on his behalf, 'No offence son, but you're a hot head, let me handle this' he scoffed grumpily as he recalled his Godfather's words.

He removed the uniform, which was designed much like an Auror uniform, with many more hefty safety charms and sat behind his desk.

"Dobby" he called and the elf appeared with a pop.

"Master Harry sir summoned Dobby" he bowed excitedly, it wasn't often Harry called on his beloved elf friend while at work. More over it had been weeks since Harry had been home.

"Any word from Sirius?" he asked as he rubbed his wrists.

"No Master Harry sir, but little master Potter requested your presence at dinner tonight" he implored and Harry sighed.

"Please send him my apologies; I'm still tied up with this project and I'm nowhere near close to my desired result and on top of that we can't find a decent enough replacement" he groaned as he nursed his fire whiskey.

"Dobby is worried about Master Harry sir. Dobby knows Master is stressed and is not being to Potter Manor for many days but Dobby is begging Master to take care of himself" the elf said as his eyes widened in sadness whilst his ears drooped.

Harry smiled at his magical friend, feeling the warm sensation he'd felt only a hand full of times in his entire lifetime. "Dobby, my dear friend, I know I haven't been myself the past few days and yes I've been avoiding coming home but you have to understand I need to finish this and when I do, I'll spend so much time at the Manor that you will have to kick me out. I promise" he said sincerely.

The elf smiled and blew his nose on his mini jacket and Harry chuckled. Before either could say anything his phone buzzed, seeing the caller Id he rushed to answer.

"Sirius" he answered in his usual somber voice.

"Well hello to you too Lord Potter" he retorted comically.

"Forgive me Sirius, just having a hard day. I apologize" he said slightly embarrassed.

"You hang around blondy too much. I apologize, pffft. Sometimes son, you take this aristocratic duties of yours too seriously, to the point of making you sound pompous. Your father would have a good laugh if he could see you now. Slick, gelled brush back, you probably make poor Luci jealous" he laughed and Harry snickered.

"That's more like it" Sirius said when he heard Harry snicker.

"Okay now that you've made a point, what can I do for you?" Harry asked.

"Oh just checking up on you pup"

"Really now? You have to do a little better than that Lord Black"

"Right you are. Dan has been worried about you and asked me to check up on you" he said

"Urrrrg not you too" he groaned

"Me too what?" he asked

"Dobby was just giving me 'the talk', which I'm sure you are about to give me so I'll save you the time"

"Well good then and now that's out of the way let's get down to business" he started and Harry frowned.

"What's going on?" he asked in curiosity.

"Well now that I have your attention. We are on" he said excitedly.

"On? On what?" Harry asked trying to rub the frustration of his godfather's antics from his face.

"The Mage! I managed to convince his agent or whoever this woman was, to get the Mage to work with us"

"Don't mess with me Sirius, it's been a really long day" he said disinterestedly.

"Snap out of it Harry. The Mage will be in England tonight" he said.

"Tonight? Tonight?" he asked incredulously thinking about all the things he should have been doing in preparation.

"Do you know any other tonight?" Sirius chuckled.

"Now's not the time. I have a lot of things I need to get done and need to prepare. You could have let me known sooner" he said almost boarding frantic.

"Again, rein it in. The decision was made today and we are meeting tonight. I invited him to the Manor for dinner tonight for an informal introduction" Sirius said and Harry sighed.

"Fine! I'm relieved actually. This project was going nowhere fast and you know I hate to admit defeat" and Sirius agreed.

"Oh and another thing, since I will be bringing him to the Manor directly would it be alright if he spends the night there until I can arrange suitable living arrangements?" he asked.

"I guess a night or so wouldn't hurt"

"See you tonight and please try to make a good impression" Sirius begged and Harry laughed saying he would be on his best behaviour.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes in relief. It was the lightest he felt since he left France.

His heart constricted at the thought of her, she had become the bane of is existence. He hated that things ended the way they did, he would never admit it but deep down in the bowels of his hardened heart, there was a twinge that they could be more, actually great together; though when she declared her love for him in the throes of passion, it scared him shitless. That's what it was though, what they shared that night was something he never experienced before, sure he had a few good shags most of which in the Muggle world, nothing prepared him for what they shared together that night. It felt, right, perfect almost until she …..

Since she was on his mind all of the time, it was like a parasite that lodged into his brain and wouldn't leave; he threw himself into his work to avoid dwelling on her but she was always there. It was a good thing she was in France otherwise he would have been watching her under the invisibility cloak; the last thing he wanted was a restraining order. He had a family name to uphold and Lucius always taught him that family was everything.

The Thunderbolt brand was his pride and joy; he pitched the proposal rather reluctantly to his Godfather towards the latter part of his final year at Hogwarts with fear that Sirius would think that it was an absurd idea and laugh it off. He worked most of his spare time compiling a compelling case listing all pro and cons with the broom brands currently available. Though he was confident that he could pull it off, he still had to convince Sirius Black, Head of Ancient and Noble House Black, which was intimidating enough.

_'This is a fantastic idea son, this could revolutionize the market. Tell you what, once you graduate I will set up a meeting with Gringotts and start this up for you' Sirius said and he was excited._

He remembered asking Sirius not to fund or use his inheritance to start the company. He wanted something to call his own. He also remembered how Sirius reacted when he asked him to be the face of the company until he was established, which he was honored to. Dan was the proudest though, he always wanted to protect his brother and make life easy for him.

When the first Thunderbolt took to the market, it was an astounding success. The demand was so great that the production of the brooms increased tenfold overnight. Although he chose to forego using his inheritance, he did offer his closest friend, Draco Malfoy the opportunity to be an investor.

He knew Draco himself wanted to be his own man and this was an ideal opportunity for them both to break out as their own man. Lucius together with Sirius wished them well.

Gringotts drew up iron clad contracts for the duo, mainly stipulating the profits, shares etc. The most important of the clauses was that Harry had the controlling share and that all decisions were his, his word was final. Draco had no dispute with the clause and signed immediately. After they signed Harry was well on his way. Draco was surprisingly supportive and considering that the turn around on his investment was enough for him to retire easily a hundred times over, he wanted nothing to do with the handling of the business.

_In all of this, he did manage to make an enemy of a once very close friend._

But now looking back, all of this felt empty somehow. He accomplished things most people his age wouldn't even dream off. Dan was going to be married and he knew Sirius was pretty deep in his relationship with Amelia Bones. It was just him, all alone. Sure he always loved the idea of being alone but now he wasn't so sure. He looked at his watch and realized that time had got away from him. With that he got up and went the fireplace.

He flooed to Potter manor and went straight up to his bedroom. He stripped out of his clothes and when into his shower. He hit the button for the jets and sighed as the water hit him from all sides and he felt the tension leave his muscles. He had modified Potter manor to accommodate Muggle appliances and other gadgets, like his bathroom for instance. He had a shower with high powered jets installed from just about every angle, not to mention the jetted bathtub for those days he needed to unwind. It would make just about anyone jealous.

He had an entertainment room with a projector, gaming consoles, a personalized home theater system not mention both pool and Foosball tables. He had it installed mostly for Daniel but they hardly ever used it anymore.

He turned off the shower and dried himself off; walking out in the buff into is closet. He chose to forgo robes since it was dinner but opted for a navy Armani three piece suit with a crisp white shirt. He picked out his tie and then proceeded to the mirror to slather on product in hair and brushed it back. As he looked up he chuckled, he did look like the Malfoy's. He did decide to trim his beard down to a stubble look and with the suite and slick hair, it actually made him look a hundred times hotter, even if he did say so himself.

"Master Harry Potter, little master Potter is waiting for you in the foyer" Dobby said as he popped in and picked up Harry's dirty laundry.

"Thank you Dobby. Oh and Dobby"

"Yes Master Harry Potter Sir?"

"We are having a guest living here for a few days, please prepare the guest room"

"Yes Master Harry Potter Sir, Dobby will do his best. Will that be all?"

"Oh yes, the Mage will be here in a short while, Sirius will be bringing him over, so please set the table accordingly and bring out the good wine from the cellar" he instructed and the elf happily nodded and went off on his merry way.

Harry walked into the parlor where Daniel was reading a quidditch magazine, whilst twirling his wand in his hand.

"I see you scoping out the competition" he said smiling at his little brother. Daniel looked like a typical Potter, raven messy hair; his though had a hint of auburn, good physique and those brown eyes.

"Yes well I'm trying to understand why my big brother buys this crap? And what the hell is that on your face?" he retorted and stood to hug his brother.

"Yeah, well I'm trying this new look and I really like it" he chuckled.

"It looks good on you. You make the rest of us look like ogres" he laughed

"Can't help it if I'm what women want" he joked.

"Who said only the women? I hear your name amongst the guys too"

"Well I'm universally adored, what can I do?" he smirked.

"Chill the ego a bit Malfoy" he punched Harry's shoulder lightly.

"How are you Harry? It's been weeks since I've seen you" he said looking carefully at his brother.

Harry sighed, knowing Daniel will not this go, "This design had been driving me crazy. I've been wrecking my brain for weeks and I am nowhere near where I want to be."

"It's not healthy!" he retorted

"I know but this is big, bigger than anything that's ever been attempted, so it's going to take up a lot of my time" he sighed.

"Yeah I know. The vines are talking Harry. The word out is that your client had taken the idea to the other manufactures" he said cautiously.

"That's not good" he frowned.

"You're taking this rather well" Dan said

"If I can't crack this, then no one will" he said rather confidently.

"From what I hear, one of them have acquired the service of a specialist they call the Mage"

"WHAT? Where did you hear this?" he growled.

"A reliable source" he said.

"That's not possible, the Mage is coming here tonight. He's going to be working with us" he explained.

"Well, if the source is correct then you best get the design patented" he advised.

"Definitely. So enough about work, where is Alexia?" Harry asked trying to move away from a topic which could blow up in his face if he continued.

"She will be joining us soon. She had a quick errand to run. Her sister had been asking about you" he smirked and Harry rolled his eyes and groaned. Alexia had been trying to set them up on a date for ages but Harry just was not interested.

"Come on she's not that bad" he laughed.

"I swear if I am in any way partnered with her for your upcoming nuptials, I will not be attending. That woman is like Rita Skeeter. Need I say more?" Harry growled.

"Fine, I'll let Alexia down gently. You know it's going to break her heart" Dan joked egging him on.

"Errrrg" he moaned talking a sip of his wine.

"Speaking of which, we've set a date" he said nervously.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Erm we settled for a quiet December wedding. That's like nine months away"

"That's, wow. I can't believe you're getting married" Harry said and hugged his brother. The last thing he needed was for his brother to detect the hint of sadness lurking in his voice.

"There's also something else. I want you to be my best man" he stammered.

Harry looked at Daniel and sighed, he had to be there for his little brother and he could tell how much it meant to him so he nodded in consent.

"Really?"

"Yeah"

"Wait until Amanda hears about this" he joked and Harry smacked him on his head.

Just then the floo activated and Alexia stumbled through, wolf whistling when she saw Harry, "hello handsome. Babe why can't you try to be this hot? I mean Harry is just a natural. I'm still amazed how he's not spoken for" she teased and kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Oh yeah, add to his already humongous ego, why don't you" Dan grumbled and Harry winked at him.

"Well I'm sure Amanda would like too" he smirked and Harry glared.

"Oh please, Amanda couldn't handle Harry, even in her dreams" Alexia said and Harry saluted her.

They spoke for a few minutes and they heard the doorbell. Harry filled Alexia in about the guest he will be hosting for the next few days. They could hear Sirius voice in the hallway and Harry stood and waited. Sirius walked in first and smiled awkwardly and Harry immediately picked up on it.

"May I introduce you to the Mage" he started and as if in slow motion walked in the face that haunted Harry for weeks. "Miss "

"Mione?"


	4. Chapter 4

Hi all, New chapter, new rating. That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some R&R. Please enjoy.

**Disclaimer**… I don't own Harry Potter; don't make money from it… Just like dabbling in the Wizarding World

Hermione POV

_Hermione Granger was a woman of intelligence that rivaled many. She qualified with the highest honors and worked at the Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France (French Ministry of Magic)._

_She was highly coveted but chose a career in Independent research and development. She consulted across the world. Since she was a Muggle-born, she opted for the best of both worlds. At the age of twenty three, she wanted to share her love for reading so she opened a book shop, which became such a hit that she ended up with a franchise in under two years._

_She had taken a leave of absence from work and decided to enjoy a day at her bookshop and that was when she ran into her dearest friend from her childhood, Harry Potter._

_After spending weeks with him, she was blown away by what an amazing person he grew up to be. He was strong, confident and devilishly handsome compared to the repressed, runt like demeanor he had in his childhood. The more time she spent with him the more she found herself attracted to him. _

_Her parents were in awe of him, her mother gushed about how handsome he had grown and her father was just proud that he come so far in life especially after knowing the childhood he endured._

_While sitting in her apartment one afternoon, she saw a beautifully strong owl carrying a letter, with what looked like the Hogwarts crest. She quickly untied the letter and gave the owl a treat before opening the envelope._

_ The letter was from Professor Dumbledore asking her to assist a dear friend of his with a project that would redefine flying. She quickly read the design requirements and even though it was ambitious, it had merit. She knew it would require a lot of research and testing but that was what she was good at, besides the payment that was being offered was more than a bonus. Which was not the point; this was what she excelled at, so if getting paid for what she was good at then she was more than happy to get paid. She quickly responded saying she would look into it._

_The tension between them had reached its climax on her birthday, when he sent her the book set. She knew she had fallen for her green eyed friend and when her friends grilled her about the mysterious friend, she played it down but in reality, it just added to her already surmounting feelings. Sure she had caught him gawking at her arse when he thought when she wasn't looking not to mention how he grasped and blushed when his hand accidentally brushed against the side of her breast reaching for the salt but she had to know._

_During their stint at the club, they had one too many drinks and the girls convinced her to text him. After several failed attempts, her friend grabbed the phone, sent the text and gave her back the phone. _

_The advice they gave her borderline barmy 'Hermione, you have to seduce him with dance. Hermione you must tell him how you feel. Hermione, just take him home and have your way with him'_

_Little did they know that she was a virgin and she a romantic at heart. Come on, she loves Jane Austin novels for crying out loud. She hoped that those surreptitious glances he gave her were a sign of something deeper. But boy was she wrong. _

_ Everything was going well until she kissed him and he responded which ended with her writhing under him. She was in heaven for those few glorious moments, then the next morning was a wake up she never would forget. He regretted it, all the signs, were nothing short of a typical male. Sure she encouraged him but it was a cold slap in the face. She sucked it up and tried to move on._

_She spent the next few days nursing soreness from her 'mistake' and her wounded ego. When he had explained why she was more confused than ever. He looked conflicted when she said that she expected nothing off him and after taking time to analyse it, she jotted it down as nothing and moved on._

_When he showed up on her doorstep with flowers and started speaking about how much she meant to him she lost her bearings and gave in. what they shared was more than she had ever imagined. The way he touched her, kissed her, tasted her it was like she was the only woman in the world to him. She felt loved and when he entered her she felt so complete I wasn't something she ever thought she would feel. It was like two puzzle pieces clicked into place. She knew he felt it too, she saw it in his eyes and then she let the L-bomb slip and just like that, her perfect world tumbled down around her._

_She knew he was an insecure child and she saw it in him as an adult in that very moment. Those people had destroyed his beautiful soul. She knew she could help him, if only he let her in. God knew what they did to him when they moved from England. _

_It all changed though, the moment he got defensive and started spitting all those venomous words about love being a waste of time and basically implied she was nothing but a convenient way to slake an urge, she lost it. When he left, she broke down. Her first heart break was at the hands of the one she least expected. She cried, for days. She ignored all Dumbledore's letters and wallowed in self-pity._

_She was two weeks in and she finally came to terms and had a moment of self-empowerment. She was Hermione Granger! Nothing was going to keep her down. She then started her research on Dumbledore's request. She worked tirelessly for days at the ministry before she started corresponding with Sirius Black, the owner of the Thunderbolt brand. _

_At first she was blown away by the number of letters, which were bordering obsessive really. She started responding to Mr Black directly and he charmed his way to getting her to agree. She was taken aback when he offered her to live with his Godson in a Manor no less, until such time he could find alternate living arrangements. She thought it was rather unprofessional but he explained that his Godson was the mastermind behind the broom so she relented and agreed. _

_Mr Black was a charming man; she could only imagine what he was like during his youth. He told her about his god sons and how his best friends were murdered. She felt bad for the man however when they reached the Manor, she was blown away at the beauty of it. He told her that while she was working on the project, it would draw unwanted attention because there were others that looked to steal the patent from his Godson. She could hear the pride in his voice when he spoke of the young man, who she assumed was older than her._

_He asked her to wait in the hallway while he introduced her. When she walked in she was came face to face with the very eyes that haunted her dreams except this was a different. He was different; he looked like a snotty ass aristocrat._

"Harry?"

They both stood frozen staring at each other. It was as if time had stood still for the ex-lovers as they took in each other's appearance. Sirius looked at them then to Daniel and Alexia, who stared at the two, watching them walking closer to each other.

"Daniel, who is she?" Alexia whispered so softly almost afraid to disturb the atmosphere in the room.

"Hermione?" Daniel broke away from Alexia and moved towards the couple, breaking their gaze.

She looked at him and gave him a watery smile and he gave off a breathless chuckle then hugged her so fiercely that he ended up picking her off the ground and spinning her around.

"Look at you. All grown up" she laughed and ruffled his hair.

"You're a witch?" he asked and she nodded in affirmation.

"You? All of you are ..?" she asked and they all nodded except for Harry, he just stood there looking at her doe eyed.

"Wow" she laughed.

"This is my fiancé, Alexia Thomas. Love, meet Hermione Granger. My guardian angel and sister in all but blood" he introduced Alexia who looked perplexed but instantly relaxed when she saw Daniel's teary expression and Hermione embraced Alexia like a long lost relative.

"I heard so much about you" Hermione slipped.

"Really. How?" Daniel looked confused. Sirius caught Hermione's shock and Harry's supposedly comatose stance and immediately knew something was going on between the two.

"Well since we're all know each other, I'm Sirius Black, Harry and Daniel's Godfather. Now where's my hug?" Sirius injected easily defusing the situation because everyone laughed.

Daniel was overjoyed as he bombarded Hermione with questions, his reporter instincts naturally taking over. Alexia enjoyed Hermione's company as she included her in all of their conversations. She never did look back at Harry the entire time though he was openly staring at her.

"I take it that you did a little more than business in France. Is she the reason you're a mess?" Sirius asked handing him a glass of fire whiskey.

"I don't know what you're talking about" nonchalantly gulping his drink and Sirius grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"I knew you would fall in love, but I never thought you would fall this hard. She really got to you and by the looks of it, you don't know what hit you" he chuckled into his glass and Harry glared at him.

"You Potter men are ridiculous. This is going to be so much fun" he whispered and walked away when Harry growled.

Just then Dobby popped in and announced dinner, ushering them into the dinning hall. Harry sat at the head of the table and Sirius held out a chair for Hermione at the right of him. Harry glared at Sirius, who just happened to love stirring the pot. Daniel sat to Harry's left then Alexia with Sirius in-between her and Hermione.

When the first course was presented, Harry reached for the butter but grasped Hermione's hand instead, who was also reaching it, she snapped her hand back and cleared her throat "So Mr Black, please tell me more about your company" she spoke and Harry was put out by her reaction. 'Does she really hate me that much?'

"Well there's nothing that I can tell you about that unfortunately" he started

"How so?" she asked.

"Harry is the owner of the company, I'm merely the face of it. It's quiet a remarkable story, one I'm sure he will share with you later on" he said and Harry stared into his plate when she looked at him.

'Great now she'll never agree to it' he thought.

"I'd like that" she said softly and Harry's head snapped in her direction. When he saw sincerity in her eyes, he nodded gently.

After dinner they retired to the living room, where Daniel and Hermione reacquainted themselves and Harry just watched from his seat near the window facing the gardens. He would smile when Daniel would get excited about something he shared. They even discussed their upcoming nuptials and already made Hermione promise she would be there. It wasn't long before Sirius bid them good night.

Hermione looked up at Harry and frowned, "is he always this anti sociable?" she asked softly and Daniel chuckled.

"This is him being sociable; usually he would have left immediately after dinner"

"That cannot be healthy" she said with concern etched on her face.

"You're right, he hasn't been the same since his last business trip and with the stress of this new project you can tell it's taken a toll on him. I mean serious, who grows a beard like that for fun? Well it's a good thing you're here; if anyone can pull him out of a funk it's you" he said genuinely

"Dan, that was years ago" she started.

"Yeah miss bossy pants, it's time you kick some sense into him"

"Love, we have to go. It's getting late and we need to stop by Amanda's" Alexia said looking at Daniel.

"You don't live here" Hermione panicked, 'Oh no, I'm going to be living alone with Harry. I've spent the past month getting over him and now I'm back to square one living under the same roof as him'

"No, Harry and his band of merry elves are the only souls living in this fine establishment; so you will be in good hands" Dan joked and Harry glared at him.

"Good night Hermione, please don't be a workaholic like my big brother. And Harry, take care of Hermione, don't let her wander down the rabbit hole" he chuckled at Hermione's confused expression. After bidding farewell they left, leaving Hermione and Harry to face each other after a month.

"You look different" she started, taking him in again. He looked illegally too hot, the suit, she assumed was Armani, the hair bushed back and held together by product and then that gorgeous manly beard, bring out the color in his eyes. He's the kind of man any woman would dream about.

"Yeah, trying out a new look. I kind of like it, makes me look a little more mature" he chuckled and the sides of her mouth twitched.

"Hermione, I want to say that I'm really sorry about what happened in France" he started. She immediately was incensed and cut him off.

"You don't have to worry Harry; I will be focused on your project and nothing else for the duration of my stay in England" she said diplomatically.

"Hermione, that's not what I.." he tried. 'She is making it difficult for me to apologise for my behaviour'

"I was told I will be living here until Sirius could find alternate arrangements. Could you please show me to my room?" she asked picking up her backpack.

He sighed and knew he was not going to win her over tonight, but he knew he would win her over eventually, "follow me"

He led her to one of the most beautiful guest rooms the Manor had to offer, it faced the gardens. It was tranquil and luxurious. He made sure Dobby knew that the guest was special to him and ensured that the room had everything of the best.

She took in the room and was immediately drawn to the balcony. She immediately fell in love with the view. The gardens boasted a host of roses, shrubs and magical plants. The aroma of the flowers permeated the air and the breeze carried the scent into the manor.

Harry smiled and took in the image; he could imagine her waking up and wrapping herself in his sheets and walking out here in the morning and just basking in sunlight. It was as if it was made for them. He could imagine her getting lost in the library and he would come home and remind her that it was supper time and they would go down and dine enjoying each other's company.

"It's beautiful" she said snapping him out of his thoughts and he agreed though he was looking at her.

"There's also something else I would like to show you" he said and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I promise it's nothing that will harm you in any way" he said holding out his hand for her to take. After several seconds of contemplating she nodded and placed her hand in his as he led her down the corridor smiling surreptitiously to himself.

They stopped in front of a double door made of oak and it had a golden name plate "The Rabbit Hole" she read out loud and he smiled.

He placed his hands on the handles and opened both doors at the same time and the gasp he heard was so worth it. He led her inside the massive library. It was two floors and only had one entrance. It had a massive fireplace and two love seats on a plush rug. A massive table in the center facing glass doors which opened up to a balcony facing the gardens. "I thought you would like it" he smiled as he led her further in.

"This is like something out of my imagination, its perfect. I get why it's called the Rabbit Hole. You could get lost in here" she said as her fingers caressed the spines of the books.

"It was a gift my father had given my mother for their wedding, from what Sirius had told me" he explained.

"Anyways, you can feel free to use it at any time you wish, just don't lose yourself in here" he gave her a soft smile and left her there.

Hermione was in heaven, she couldn't explain the emotions that were running through her at that moment. The library truly was something else. Harry was trying to be a good host and she was being a bitch but in her defence, she was still trying to protect herself. This manor was nothing she had ever seen before. It was rich in history but also boasted modern features. The gardens and the Library were her favourite. She could see herself being very motivated, this place was more of a retreat than a home.

She was saddened that she would not be living there for the duration of her stay though, it truly was amazing.

She walked back into her room and decided to take a quick shower before turning in for the night. She walked into the bathroom and froze. It was another wonder of the Manor; the modern bathroom was something you would only find in a five star hotel. She quickly scraped the idea of a quick shower in favor of a long soak in the jet tub. She quickly set her bath and ran to grab her he copy of Pride and Prejudice from her charmed backpack before settling in her bath.

After a long soak, she climbed onto the queen size four poster bed and melded into it, slipping into a peaceful slumber.

Please leave your Reviews & PM's. Would love to hear from you.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi all, apologies for not updating in a while. I'm actually stuck on My Cheating heart by tweety-scr-clt9. I love me some drama and angst. I'm like three chapters ahead and I know the story will take a turn soon, if you're not already bored. This is just a filler chapter. We'll learn more in the next chapter. I'm being vague about the design of the broom for a reason. Hopefully you'll stick around with me til the end.

That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some R&R. Please enjoy.

**Disclaimer**… I don't own Harry Potter; don't make money from it… Just like dabbling in the Wizarding World

Harry was ready for the day ahead, he was going to be working with Hermione, his Hermione, the very same Hermione that he not only slept with twice but who was also a witch. Things were different now, everything was different. He didn't need to hide who he was from her.

_'She didn't even look my way_' he thought grumpily.

'_Can't blame her, I was a right dick, throwing her feelings back in her face_' he reasoned with himself.

'_Maybe if I played my cards rights, we could be friends again'_

_'Oh yeah and watch her find someone who will actually return her feelings and then watch them live happily ever after, while you rot away all alone and eat food your dear brother and his wife sent over for Sunday lunch_' he thought bitterly gripping his cup and carelessly crushed it in his hand.

"Shit" he hissed as a shard of glass embedded itself in his palm.

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked as she took his hand in hers, examining it.

"I just … OUCH that hurt!" he said shrieked as she yanked the shard out. With her wand she cast a healing charm as he watched the in awe as the wound sealed itself up.

"Thanks" he whispered looking at his perfectly healed hand and she shrugged sitting opposite him and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"What time will we be leaving to the lab?" she asked as she buttered her toast.

"At 8:45, we start at 9:00 sharp. I will explain in greater detail and give a breakdown of what we have achieved thus far, mind you it's not much at this stage" he said and she nodded nonchalantly.

"There's a few rules we need to go over before we leave" she said after finishing her toast in complete silence and Harry nodded for her to continue.

"I go by the name the Mage for a reason; no one other than the main client knows my identity. This is purely for security reasons and you need to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we leave. You will address me as Isabelle Éclairée or simply Belle" she finished rather formally and he nodded.

"You're safe here; our facility is one of the safest places in England, like this Manor. The wards are pretty remarkable" he tried to assure her however it came off a bit more pretentious and she rolled her eyes.

With that they got ready for the day ahead and exactly 8:45 Harry had apparated them to The Thunderbolt research facility.

He led Hermione across the bullpen to the war room, "so this is our Storm room, where we brainstorm. The draft then goes to the research lab before being sent down to development. Annnnd you know that already" he said flatly when he saw her staring intently at the white board.

He watched as she waved her wand hypnotically in the air and wisps of silver began forming a 4D like canvas in the air. She moved it over the table and stared at it again, "I find that it helps when you look things from a different perspective" she mumbled when she felt his eyes burning holes into her head.

"Take this for example" she said using her wand and enlarging the runes on the seat. "This is a basic stability rune and it conflicts with the runes that you have on the broomstick itself"

"What? That's not possible. My guys have gone through this a dozen times to ensure the runes were compatible" he said and walked over to the table brushing up against her.

"Did the broom vibrate at any point during the transition?" she grasped and he nodded.

"Exactly, it's always a common error, people tend to overlook the little things that ends up having the biggest effect" flicking her wand and enlarging the runes for the disillusionments.

"This is a rather complicated rune" she whispered and took a closer look, "what did you intend to do with this?" she asked while reading the runes.

"Well since this was a military grade broom design, there were many add-on's I wanted for the safety of the rider. For instance, this here was meant to channel the rider's magic and determine when he needed to be disillusioned. A long shot, but helpful none the less. An act of wandless magic so to speak" he frowned and Hermione looked impressed.

"That's actually a brilliant feature, it would mean more concentration on the task on hand rather than worrying about casting, it's a powerful tool Harry, in the wrong hands it could also mean bad news for the Auror's" she frowned at the thought of criminals getting their hands on these brooms.

"Yes, I've thought about it and I came up with this" he wordlessly summoned some parchment from his office.

"This is what will set our broom apart" he smiled proudly and handed her the parchment. She opened it and scanned through it greedily.

"This is the most ambitious thing I've seen in a long time" she whispered and he smiled.

"So you think we could make it work?" he asked and she smiled.

"I need to research this but I do know it's going to take time to get these runes to assimilate without conflicting" he smiled at her enthusiasm.

"Okay then, since I've got what I needed in terms of the runes, I'll need a place to research" she said as she created a duplicate of the research.

"Hermione, this is my secret project for the broom" he frowned when he saw her rolling up the parchment. "I know that Harry, which is why I will be stationed at the Manor library. I've seen quite a few tomes on ancient runes that could help" she said firmly and smiled softly and looked at him before saying, "apart from that, it's a beautiful and tranquil environment. If you allow me to that is"

Harry was beyond surprised, he was more than happy to have her work from home, hell he'd be even happier if she didn't have to move out, that way he would be close to her and she couldn't object.

"I'll ask Dobby to prepare the library for you and I'll inform Sirius that you will be moving in with me" he smiled and she raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, living at the Manor" he stuttered before turning to walk out the lab.

"Listen up everyone. As you all know, we have acquired the service of a Charms and Runes specialist, this is Miss Éclairée of Pau, France. She's been here for less than an hour and she has already exposed a few foundation errors. Miss Éclairée and I will be working closely on redesigning the broom from scratch so in the meantime, I would like to grant you all a month's leave" he said and someone who had taken a sip of coffee, choked.

"What do you mean a month's leave?" another asked and Harry rolled his eyes.

"You are getting a month's leave of absence, fully paid. Does that answer your question?" he dawdled out trying to make a point to the confused faces he saw.

"But you never give us anything" another said and Harry growled.

"Look you have been working non stop for a month and once we have the patented design in our hands you will be working a lot harder, so you can either take the offer or leave it! It's that simple" he demanded and everyone scurried off before he could change his mind.

'He's probably trying to impress the French maid, not that I'm complaining' he heard them whisper as they dispersed.

He placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out an elegant chain with a round pendant of the Potter crest. He went into the Storm room and held his hand out with the chain in his palm. Hermione looked at him in confusion. "This is a portkey; it will take you directly the Manor. All you have to do is hold on it and whisper 'home' and you will be transported there immediately" he instructed softly and she took it with shaky hands.

"Give it a try then" he said after he watched her clip it on.

She held onto it with her finger and thumb then whispered 'home' before she disappeared. Harry smiled and gathered her things before disapparating.

Harry had the elves set up the library for them to work in and when they had arrived, he asked Hermione if everything was to her liking and she gratefully concurred, saying that it was perfect. She wasted no time being idle, she started analysing all the runes and charms and Harry watched her in her element for the first time. Her eyes were sharp and glowing even though she was deep in concentration.

To him she never looked more beautiful and it finally dawned on him; what he felt for her was more than friendship. He gasped almost inaudibly; it was a cold slap in the face knowing that she offered him what he needed and he that he threw it in her face.

It dawned on him that he if wanted to pursue her, he needed to fix himself. He couldn't, no wouldn't drag her into the mess that was his life. With that he excused himself and let her be.

Hermione spent weeks on reconstructing the runes and charms and was making good progress, though she was still trying to integrate the safety features they had discussed. Apart from the far from gruelling task she had, Potter Manor was a dream to work and live in. The elves were helpful and friendly regardless of her adamantly asking not to be served. The elves were downright aghast with her request but since it made Master Harry's miss happy, they endured.

Please leave your Reviews & PM's. Would love to hear from you.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi all, back again with another chapter. This has a more details on Harry's and Hermione's past. It's pretty long, even for my standards. Hopefully it will satisfy your HHR for a while.

That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some R&R. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything pertaining to it belongs solely to J.K R and Warner Bros.

Harry had been coy the first few days and after she had reiterated that he had nothing to be concerned about with regards to her professionalism; to his dismay, that's what she had been. A professional, with an occasional smile here and there, that was about it.

He would advise her on when he discovered something new and together they would discuss ways in which they could implement them and she would go about her work.

Harry noticed things about her too, she looked pale, sickly almost. She hardly ate; she spent more time on the research than anything else. Sure she had been adamant on being there strictly for work, but she was bordering barmy. It was not healthy, he often wondered if she were like this all the time because something about it wasn't right. She needed a break and three weeks of non-stop working can't be good, even to his standards.

"Hermione" he called waiting patiently for her to acknowledge him.

"Yes Harry? Did you find anything of importance?" she asked not bothering to look up.

"No, actually I thought maybe you needed to take a break" he frowned as she moved to the other side and scribbled furiously.

"I'll have plenty of time for that once I'm done" she muttered and he scoffed.

She finally looked up at him and frowned when he spoke, "you have been cooped up in here for three weeks straight. The elves have informed me that you hardly eat. You haven't been sleeping. You're scaring my magical friends Hermione and they pretty much demanded that I give you a break. They think I'm making you slave away in this library."

Her eyebrows almost reached her hairline when she took in his appearance; he was sporting what clearly looked like riding gear. He wore a pair of low rise white breeches with black boots and he wore a navy show coat. He still had his hair combed back and that stubble on his face made him look like an absolute riot.

"Are you going to the races?" she asked suddenly turning back to her tome after he had caught her blatantly gawking.

He chuckled shaking his head, "Are you going to avoid my concerns?"

She rolled her eyes at him and a small smile playing on her lips, "That's absurd Harry; off course you're not a slave driver. I just often tend to lose myself in my work"

"I don't want you to wear yourself out, nothing is more important than your wellbeing" he said softly and she looked at him and for the first time since her arrival, he saw her eyes soften and gave him a gentle nod.

"Would you like to join me?" he asked chancing his luck.

"I don't think it's a good idea Harry" she said turning to the parchment in her hand, wanting nothing more than to be in his presence.

"You need a break Hermione and we can take a ride along the lake, it's really calming" he offered and she looked at him in wonder.

"I promise you, no funny business" he said raising his hands in surrender.

"I don't have the right attire I'm afraid" she sighed knowing she was a hairs breathe away from agreeing.

"Nonsense, Winky" he called and the female elf appeared.

"Winky, please could you arrange ridding wear for Miss Granger. I wish to show her the lake" Harry spoke formally to the elf,who perked up when she looked at Hermione.

"Of course Master Harry sir, Winky will find Master's miss the perfect fit" she said giddy with excitement before disappearing.

"Master Miss? Really?" she deadpanned and Harry shuffled on his feet slightly.

"It's the first time we, I, had female company here. So" he shrugged and she frowned at that bit of information.

Before they could say more, the overzealous elf returned handing Hermione a zipped bag, ushering her to her room not before winking at Harry, who stared at the elf is disbelief.

"These elves will drive me barmy one of these days" he muttered before moving out of the library.

Harry stood at the foot of the stairway, waiting patiently for her but he didn't have to wait long. She was looking rather swanky in the equestrian gear. Harry took every inch of her, remembering what was hidden beneath. The skin tight pants left little to the imagination and he noticed that they had matching coats.

"You look, wow" he started and she rolled her eyes and brushed past him without hearing him grasp. He grew uncomfortably hard when she bent over to pick up her whip, she looked over her shoulder and found his eyes had darkened somewhat and she quickly averted her eyes and cleared her throat.

They walked down to the stables in a semi awkward silence. "Did I ever mention that you have an amazing home?" she started and he smiled.

"Hermione" he started solemnly and she immediately knew he would apologise so she cut him off again, "How did you find out about your Godfather?"

He sighed in frustration and she smirked surreptitiously, "I tell you about that only if you give me a chance to apologise" and the smirk fell right off her face.

"There's nothing for you to apologise about Harry, if anything I should be the one apologising to you" she started and he opened his mouth to protest but she continued.

"I propositioned you, twice and it wasn't fair on you. I made you uncomfortable with a declaration, which after serious thought, was just said in the heat of the moment" at this point Harry looked as if he had been kicked in his stomach.

"I had a time to reflect on everything and no one falls in love with someone they just met, it's silly really" she forced the vile words out for mouth.

"So you have nothing to apologise for Harry or feel uncomfortable about, besides once the broom is complete, our paths may never cross again and I would not want to end bitterly" she finished as they reached the stables.

Harry couldn't fathom anything at that moment apart from watching her caress the horses. He was confused, hurt and angry that she felt that way! Just when he was finally accepting it. _'Accepting what? That she had been right! That he had fallen for her? They could make it work'_He was getting there, hell, he even had been seeing a therapist for crying out loud, as embarrassing as it was, he wanted to sort out his emotional wounds and try this relationship thing with her. But now, now she's over it, just like that, like it meant nothing.

"Harry?" his head snapped and faced her and had an unreadable look on his face. "Are you ok? I've been calling you and you didn't hear me"

"Sorry, I.. It's nothing" he cleared his throat and called the elf in charge of the stables had him assist with saddling the horses. Once done he helped Hermione onto the horse; they began a somewhat silent ride.

After a few minutes of riding the awkwardness became too much for her, "Is this what it's going to be like?" she snapped

"Pardon?" he frowned

"Are you going to avoid speaking to me the entire ride?"

"Huh? Oh sorry. It's that you have me at a disadvantage" he frowned.

"How so?"

"Well I.. I never thought about anything other than apologising for the manner in which I handled our situation in France" he cringed when he notice her face steeled when he said 'our situation'

"Perhaps 'situation' isn't the best way to describe it" he said apologetically and he saw her face soften a bit.

"But now, I don't how to react to how bluntly you p..?"

"I beg your pardon, bluntly?" she almost shrieked and he had to stop his horse when she was no longer following.

"Well yes, that's how I would describe it, bluntly" he confirmed and she was getting angry

"I don't believe you! Of all the.. you Mr Potter are a riot" she started and began cussing at him in French and he noticed the horse getting agitated.

"Hermione, you need to calm down" he started, "Don't tell me calm down!" she snapped and in the process, spooked the horse making him drop her on her ass before galloping away.

Harry quickly scrambled off and ran to see if she was hurt, "Are you okay?" he scanned her for any injuries.

"I'm fine! Please, help me up" holding out her hands for him to take.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" he fussed when she had dusted herself off.

"I'm okay Harry, just shaken up. What happened to the horse?" she looked at the horse running off in the distance.

"You spooked her off, but she'll be fine. They are really smart, she'll find her way to the stables" he said still checking to see if she had been hurt.

"I'm sorry" she winced.

"We can ride together, Spirit is strong enough to carry us both" he said pointing to his steed and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Unless you want to walk back?" he offered her the option out which was far less appealing.

"Are you sure that it's okay?"

"He's really strong" he confirmed and with that he helped her on, while placing himself snugly behind her, smiling to himself when she stiffened he placed his hand on her abdomen to steady them as they took off.

"You never did tell me how you discovered you were a Wizard" she spoke after five minutes of taking in the vast highlands surrounding the Potter Estate.

"Well, there were a few instances where I couldn't explain when things happened and the most significant one of all would be about a month after you and your family had left. Dan and I were locked away in the cupboard and Vernon tried to hurt Dan for something Dudley had done. He was about to lash Dan with his belt and I remember being so angry that every single window in that house literally exploded. Well let's just say Vernon's wrath turned to me afterwards, which was okay because Dan was safe. That night I began to think back about all the times these weird things happened but couldn't pinpoint it. That was until I received Owl post" he laughed, he actually laughed and Hermione smiled at that.

"Now that was one for the record books. Vernon had almost lost his marbles. He had taken us away to some remote part of London to get away but it never stopped. Dan was just as confused as me but that was when we met Sirius Black, my Godfather. Who may I add, thought we were dead, murdered by the very person who killed my parents. It was crazy, everything about that night felt like a dream. I always, albeit foolishly, imagined, prayed even, to be rid of the Dursley's and it did. Well I had questions and serious trust issues and it took time but it all worked out in the end" he explained and she was hooked onto his every word. They stopped at the edge of the lake as he allowed the horse to quench his thirst.

Under the large oak tree was an antique bench, which Harry had directed her to. She read the inscription on the bench and looked at him waiting for an explanation. "Apparently my great great-grandfather gifted this to his beloved, my great great-grandmother as a birthday gift. It seems as though the Potters were very expressive of the love for their significant other" he said awkwardly.

"I guess it skipped a generation though" he chuckled humorlessly to himself.

"So what did happen to your parents? If you don't mind me asking that is" trying not to pry.

"It was a case gone awry. Have you ever heard of the Battle of the Hallows?" he asked and she couldn't quite remember so he went on.

There was this tyrant called Tom Riddle terrorizing the Wizarding community with blood supremacy and either killed Muggleborns or anyone affiliated with them. See many believed in what he was selling, this whole blood purity" he started and she gasped.

"You see my mother was Muggle-born and my dad was a pure blood. Apart from that, he was of a Noble family; he went against everything that he stood for. My dad, although didn't need to work a day in his life, became an Auror with Sirius, his cousin and best friend. Sirius family had disowned him for not following Riddle's values. He and my dad had been investigating certain prominent families dabbling with Riddle and let's just say it didn't end well for my dad. He and Sirius had been captured and tortured for several days until they managed to escape with the help of Lucious Malfoy.

They had to go into hiding and well one of my dad's friends had betrayed him. Peter Pettigrew had been their secret keeper and well hadn't been much of a secret when Riddle got to him. He rat them out. Riddle went after them and well" he sighed heavily. He was never comfortable talking about it but it also felt a hell of a lot better getting it out.

"Oh Harry" she whispered and enveloped him in one of her bear hugs which initially surprised him but wholeheartedly accepted.

"I'm so sorry Harry" she whispered.

"Me too" he held onto her as they sat down on the bench together. She had placed her head on his shoulder as he continued.

"But that's not even the worse part; you see Riddle met his demise at my father's last curse. He was fatally wounded that night was found dead in his abandoned headquarters with every single one of his followers. You see, the joke was on us though one of his goons had Dan and I left with Dursley's. They had killed two other children and had them disfigured so they couldn't be identified and placed them in our place" Hermione tightened her hold on him, her tears unashamedly wetting his shirt.

"But how did they know you were alive?" she asked and he smiled at her ability to pick up on the little things.

"You see when it was time for the Hogwarts letters to be sent out, the book kept at Hogwarts revealed us to be alive and the night of my eleventh birthday, when I eventually received my letter all hell broke loose. Sirius and pretty much every single person that mattered was there to escort us away from the Dursley's. It was both the scariest and happiest day of my life"

"I'm so happy for you Harry. You finally have closure" she smiled and went to move but Harry had held onto her.

"I never told anyone this but I have nightmares about that night" he said whispered and she was almost afraid to ask.

"The night they died, I could hear yelling. I hear her voice telling me to take care of Dan and then there would be this green flash and she would disappear, screaming out my name" he gulped as his eyes glazed over.

"I remember seeing their bodies on the floor, staring into nothingness and it haunts me" he choked and she hugged him hard. The one thing she was good at in her childhood was reading Harry like a book. It seemed nothing had changed.

He was always had to be the brave for his brother and no one to fall back on. She knew that he never truly mourned for his parents because of that and now that he started pouring it all out, it made sense that he would. The roles had been reserved; she was the one now comforting him. She ran her hands through his hair as his tears had wet her shirt.

Time had evaded them as they sat in a comfortable silence, just holding onto each other, basking in the comfort the other offered. "Harry?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where they are?" she asked and he nodded in affirmation.

"I've never been though"

"Would you like to? For closure?" she offered and he thought about it for a few seconds before talking her hand.

"Only if you come with me" he said looking at their joined hands and she nodded. With a crack they disapparated and appeared infront of a pair of kissing gates.

Hermione looked around and took in the area around her, it was a quaint town with children running around, and it looked lively. They were near a church facing what looked to be a cemetery.

Harry released her hand and pushed he gates open before shakily taking her hand in his as they walked through.

They stopped before a pair of tombstones and Hermione watched his face crumble as she turned to face the Potters. She pulled out her wand and knelt down and conjured a beautiful bouquet of white roses and lilies. Before standing back up and wrapping her arms around his waist placing her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you" he choked out, pulling her hand to his lips.

"You don't have to thank me. I just wish you could have had more time with them Harry" she whispered and kissed his cheek. The action was innocent but had a lot more sentiment behind it and they both knew it.

He watched her shiver, "it's getting late, let's head back" he whispered and she nodded.

They walked out in silence and stopped outside the gates and with one last look Harry turned to her, "fancy a butter beer?" he asked and she contemplated it.

"We're not entirely dressed for dining out, are we?" she looked down at their equestrian clothes and he chuckled.

"It's not like we're not magical or anything" he said and with a flick of his wand their clothes were transfigured into jeans and t-shirts and their boots turned into sneakers.

"Much better" he said eyeing her inconspicuously.

"You know, a little warning would have been nice. These jeans are a bit tight" she grimaced when he said that it was just right.

They enjoyed a few pints of butter beer and a bowl of hearty stew before heading home.

Harry had to steady her when they had reached the Manor, "Are you okay?" he asked and the concern etched on his face challenged her to not lie.

"I haven't been feeling too well today, but I'm sure it will pass" she mumbled and extracted herself from his embrace.

"Master Harry, Mister Malfoy is waiting in Master's office" Dobby interrupted before Harry could say anything.

"Thank you Dobby, I'll be there shortly and Hermione, please take better care of yourself. And Hermione, thank you" he added softly before exiting the hall.

"Will Master's Miss be requiring anything of Dobby?" he asked with big expectant eyes and she smiled. "Not tonight Dobby" as she watched the elf deflate.

"Oh no, I forgot. Dobby, I will need to head to Diagon Alley, a good friend of mine, Emile Barrere will be coming to have a look at my final draft for Harry's broom. Can you let Harry know that I've stepped out and I'll be back later?" she asked as she hurried out before disapparating without noticing the weltering looking elf.

"Muggles know how to make good drinks" he savoured his drink and Harry agreed.

"How come I have not been introduced this Mage? Is she that ugly that she would have children for the hills?" Draco laughed as he sipped his scotch and Harry chuckled.

"Far from it actually" Harry mused and Draco frowned.

"So you haven't introduced her to because she's hot? You do know that I'm married right?" he looked at Harry incredulously.

"I know you are married, I was you best man remember? Besides I still don't see what Daphne saw in you in the first place" Harry scoffed playfully.

"You're just jealous" he teased.

"You wish" Harry retorted.

"One of these days Harry you will fall and you won't know what hit you. Or worse, she might be the one snitch you won't be able to catch" Draco teased but Harry pondered on his words.

"Master Harry, pardon the interruption, but Harry's Miss said she had to meet a friend in Diagon Alley and will be back later" Dobby relayed her earlier message.

"Harry's Miss?" Draco burst out laughing and Harry scowled at him.

"She doesn't have any friends here as far as I'm concern. Did she mention who?" he frowned _'she was using her alias here, so who?_' He thought

"Emile Barrere, they were meeting about the broom" Dobby said and both Draco and Harry froze.

He immediately pulled out his phone and called her, "she's not answering, dammit" he cursed.

"Dobby, did she say where?" he asked in frustration.

"Diagon Alley Master" Dobby replied. Harry thanked him before and Draco disapparated.

HERMIONE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?Please leave your Reviews & PM's. Would love to hear from you.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi all, back again with another chapter. This has a more details on Harry's and Hermione's past. It's pretty long, even for my standards. Hopefully it will satisfy your HHR for a while.

That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some R&R. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything pertaining to it belongs solely to J.K R and Warner Bros.

Diagon Alley was the epitome of busyness, it was literally buzzing with people which made it extremely dangerous for Hermione.

Harry cast a spell tracking Hermione's port key necklace and it led them straight to a restaurant on the outskirts of the Alley. Harry had spotted her getting up and greeting a tall gentleman, though what he had seen would haunt him forever; the man had bent down and kissed her. Draco had bumped into him almost knocking them both down in the process.

"What is it Harry?" Draco asked in irritation as everyone snickered at the two.

He didn't receive a response and when he saw Harry's stricken expression he followed his eyes. He found a couple hugging each other. He had never ever seen his friend like this before, there was something more going on and he had to find out. When Daniel and Sirius had teased about Harry possibly having found his significant other, he thought they were having him on but now his friend might have just experienced heartbreak.

Instead of waiting for Harry to snap out his reverie, Draco marched past him and went into the restaurant.

"Isabelle Éclairée?" Draco intruded breaking up the tryst and Hermione looked up and frowned.

"Yes, who wants to know?"

"Ah yes, forgive me. I'm Draco Malfoy, business partner and friend of Harry Potter" he introduced himself, completely ignoring the man who was still holding her closely and the realisation dawned on Hermione.

"Yes, Harry does speak highly of you. I'm sorry that we didn't meet sooner" she smiled and shook his hand.

"Harry failed to mention how beautiful you were" he said placing a kiss on her knuckles.

"That's because you're married and it shouldn't matter to you" Harry growled out not taking his eyes off Hermione and her friend, who had yet to let go of her.

"Harry, what are you doing here? I asked Dobby to inform you that I had to meet Emile, who arrived a few minutes ago" she explained smiling at the man.

"Oh yes, he did inform us that you were discussing the design of the broom, in public no less" he grit through his teeth and both Hermione and Draco didn't miss the cynicism.

"Miss Éclairée need I remind you of the nature of the design and the implications it would have if it got into the wrong hands" Draco said in a slightly condescending tone.

"Off course Mr Malfoy, I'm not an idiot" she snarled.

"Is that why you chose to meet your boyfriend and discuss it in a public place?" Harry spat and Hermione was taken aback by his words.

"Harry, what are you?" she tried.

"Miss Éclairée, public discussions about the design is strictly prohibited. Did you not read the stipulations in the contract?" Draco asked and Hermione was getting whiplash from the onslaught she was receiving. Draco cast a spell and it revealed two animagai in the vicinity. Hermione was horrified at what could have been and Harry simply shot her a glare before turning out and walking out.

"We'll discuss this at the Potter Manor and bring your boyfriend with you" he snarled the last bit.

To say Harry was furious would be an understatement, _'what the hell was she doing discussing something that involved his project with a stranger no less?' _

_'Is that the reason why you're so angry? She's a smart witch; do you honestly think she would have not taken the necessary precautions?_ I know that, but there is a lot more

_'Or are you angry because you found her in the arms of another man? Is it eating you up that she's moved on from you and that her words earlier were true?' _Shut up! He growled and everything in the room rattled.

'_No, you've got exactly what you wanted. Deep down you know that it's true, you don't love her'_ Harry snapped everything made of glass in his office exploded.

Draco and Winky appeared, "Geez Potter, take it was on the delicates will you?" he whistled taking in the damage he had caused in the office.

"You know, there's nothing better than declaring your love by blowing up everything" Draco said patting his back. He really felt bad for his friend, nothing better than tough love.

"You don't know what you're talking about" Harry snarled and Draco cocked his head.

"Listen, I've known you for a long time. I've never once seen you react like this and that could only be one of two things. One, you are really pissed that she was meeting with someone, who could possibly be here to assist her with the project. But even that is not plausible for what happened in here.

Two, you really care for her and the sight of her in the arms of someone else is too much to bear. And this coming from someone who almost flattened the Greengrass Manor when I saw my one and done being courted by someone else. Harry, listen to me; I'm really happy that you have found someone, its damn well about time and I don't want you to tell me what's going on but I want you to settle it before you do something rash and end up hurting the both of you in the process. She really looks to be your type, if you ever had one" he sighed when Harry looked to be contemplating his words.

"She's on her way here and I invited him as well. I suggest we be diplomatic about it. Afterwards you are going to speak to her and tell her how you feel. If not, I'll invite Amanda over and ask the elves to lock the two of you in this house as punishment" he joked and Harry glared at him.

"Master Harry sir, Master Harry's Miss would like to speak to him" Dobby popped in and Harry flicked his wand and all the glass was instantly repaired. "Send her in" he spoke coolly.

He watched as she entered the room hand in hand with the other man, Harry trained his features to hide the erupting volcano underneath.

"Miss Éclairée, care to introduce us to your boyfriend?" Draco spoke and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before looking at Harry, who was looking out the window.

"This is Emile Barrere, he is a Global patent attorney. He and I work closely with regards to projects such as these" she explained ignoring Draco's appraising glare.

"You do know that we have the best advocates and lawyers in Britain at our beck and call" Draco retorted and Hermione scoffed.

"I'm sure you do, however considering the nature of the product, you would need the expertise of Emile"

"If that's the case, tell me then, why did you not inform Mr Potter about this? Why did you choose to secretly meet him in a public place to discuss such confidential information? We exposed two animagai in the restaurant, who could have been working for our competition or worse! Is that what you tried to do? Leak information to our competitors and confess once the damage had been done? Is that it?" he pressed, trying to gauge a reaction from both her and Harry and by the looks of it he was going to get it.

Hermione was ready to explode, "HOW DARE YOU PRESUME SUCH?" she started and began cussing in French.

"I don't know the kind of people you liaise with but I assure you Belle isn't like that" Emile finally spoke and Harry finally turned to observe his 'competition'

"Oh that's rich coming from you! You two are in cahoots with each other. It's obvious you would cover her" Draco retorted smugly.

At this point Hermione's magic had flared dangerously and Harry watched as Emile stepped back. Draco was oblivious and continued to provoke her further and Harry acted quickly.

"Draco that's enough!" he started but it was too late. He quickly cast a shield before Hermione let out a massive magical wave knocking the other two off their feet.

Both Draco and Emile were unconscious and Harry stared in awe at Hermione's display of raw magic. She was panting and then as if in slow motion, she began to waver and slowly started to fall over. Harry used his seeker ability and caught her in his arms before she hit the floor.

"Hermione! Can you hear me?" he gasped as his eyes roamed over her pale face. When she didn't respond him, the anxiety began to settle.

"WINKY!"

"Master Harr... Ah!" the elf yelped and made her way to the couple and with a quick spell she sighed in relief and Harry waited for to elaborate.

"Miss Mione is just magically exhausted. Yous been working her too hard Master Harry!" she scolded and he actually flinched. Had it been under different circumstances he would have found it amusing.

"Winky, please see to Mr Malfoy and our guest. The wave had knocked them both out. I will put Hermione in her room. Could you please see to it that she has enough rest and the necessary potions she may need. She's not to enter the library under any circumstances until my return!" he ordered and the elf nodded before scurrying away to attend to the two lifeless men.

He placed Hermione on her four poster bed and sighed as he looked down on her pale face. He sat beside her and took her hand in his and gently caressed it. _'What are you doing to me Hermione? Just when I was ready to fully open myself to you, you walked away' he grit his teeth in anger. He was angry with himself. He gently got up and placed a kiss on her forehead_. He needed to get away from her for a while. She needed her rest and now that her boyfriend was here, she would probably want to spend time with him. He didn't want to be here to witness his Hermione, yes_ she was his Hermione in every sense of the word_, be intimate with anyone other than him.

He stepped into the room where the two men were revived and looking put out. "Where's Hermione?" Emile almost demanded and Harry stared him down hard that the man flinched and backed down almost completely. '_Easily intimidated, not even worthy of being anywhere Hermione'_ he thought bitterly.

"She's resting in her bedroom. She won't be allowed to work on the project for the foreseeable future" he growled out and the man blanched at Harry's words. _'She is going to flip out and this guy is in for a world of pain' _Emile winced_. _

"You can't do that to Hermione!"

"I will do as I see fit. She is an employee and she jeopardised her health and is putting my company at risk. She will do as she is told" he spat.

"I understand sir but Hermione will not listen. She's her own person and by preventing her from working on her project -"

"Her project? Is that why she ignored all legalities? You should not even be here or have any inclination as to what this project entails. With you being here, she in breach of contract. So tell me again, how exactly am I not making myself clear as to where Miss Granger stands with regards to my instruction?' Harry roared. Poor Emile couldn't even find a comeback and sighed in defeat.

"Now if you would excuse me, I have to see the Supreme Mugwump about a possible patent breach, which in the hands of our enemies, could be catastrophic" he spat before brushed past the deflated man.

"Mr Potter! At least take this document with you. Read through it, you may not trust Hermione and me but the least you can do is look at our research about protecting your patent. You might find it intriguing" Emile said reaching for his briefcase and pulling out a docket. He waved his wand over, muttering a complex spell and placed it on the table closest to him. Harry frowned and without another word he picked up the docket and disapparated.

Elsewhere

"Sir, we have received information from our mole that Potter is ready to patent the T.B.X.M.G01' the man reported with his head bowed.

"That's wonderful news Weasley. The sooner we have these brooms the Ministry of Magic won't know what hit them" the exhaled a puff of smoke from the cigar he had just lit.

"Yes sir" Ron Weasley nodded.

"We need to do whatever it takes to get those blueprints. Anything at all, even if we have a few casualties on the side" he smirked and Ron smiled.

"Leave it to me sir. Potter won't know what hit him and from what I hear, Potter has developed an emotional attachment to the Mage, who goes by the alias Isabelle Éclairée. If we could get to her, we could get the blueprint from right under Potter's nose" he explained.

"Interesting. Do what you need to Weasley and I will make it worth your while" he smirked and Ron couldn't help the sinister smile that crept on his lips. He was going to make Potter pay dearly; he will finally show everyone the coward Harry Potter was. '_Mark my words Potter, nothing will stop me from taking everything you have, traitor'_

Harry sipped his coffee as he reflected on his last few days; he reviewed all of Emile's research and the son of bitch had been right. It was beyond brilliant, ingenious more like it. Well frankly it should not have surprised him considering it was Hermione who had been behind it.

He was bombarded with calls from everyone for going awol. The worse was Hermione though, geez the woman was hell bent on giving him a piece of her mind, well according to Sirius anyway. She almost had to be restrained by him from physically assaulting Draco.

Sirius had the audacity to call him just to hear her explode, which he found disturbingly arousing. Apparently she was royally pissed when she was banned from the library and confined to bed rest by the elves. This resorted to buying himself a burner phone so no one could contact him.

He was meeting Dumbledore, the Supreme Mugwump after reading Emile's report. He needed to implement it as soon as possible. He had Intel from the underground that there was move to nick his design before it reached patenting and production. If that were true then the Ministry of Magic had to be informed.

"Harry Potter is that you?" Emma Granger asked as she made her way to his table which had been having is coffee. His head snapped in her direction and smiled at the older woman. She was a beautiful woman, everything Hermione could certain be as she matures.

"Sweetheart, look it's Harry" she patted her husband and made her way to his table. She hugged the young man much to Mr Granger's amusement.

"Honey, you're going to hug the boy to death" he chuckled and she relented.

"What brings you to France Harry?" she asked after Harry had invited them to join him for brunch.

"Work I'm afraid" he smiled at the older couple.

"Oh that's wonderful. Though Hermione is out of the country on assignment I'm afraid. That girl has blown us away with how successful she has become in the magical world" Emma gushed and Mr Granger had a proud smile on his face.

After a delightful meal and conversation most of which was about Harry's company, Mr Granger unknowingly dropped a bomb on Harry. "Harry, you should meet Emile Barrere. He specialises in patent protection and from what Hermione said he is pretty extraordinary" he started and Harry's mode darkened.

"Oh yeah, we've met. Hermione introduced us" he said coolly trying hard to let his emotions get the better of him.

"Oh he is a delight. I remember when Hermione first introduced us, I thought that they make a wonderful couple. Boy was I wrong, it turns out that he was in a committed relationship" she peaked around and whispered, "with another man" Harry blinked and his brows shot up and hid under his hair.

"Excuse me?"

"He's gay" she whispered and Mr Granger laughed out loud at her antics while she glared at him.

"Sexual preference was not a taboo here honey" he laughed tapping her back.

"But according to Emile, his family disapproves of it and threatened to disown him if he pursued a relationship with other men. They didn't want their family name tarnished.

Their conversation washed over Harry, who couldn't believe his ears. Emile was gay, Hermione and him were not. He still had a chance. He would risk being hexed when he returned to England tonight, he had to see her. He had one thing left to do though.

"Mr and Mrs Granger, I'm not sure how knowledgeable either of you are with Wizarding customs" he started, his heart pounding through his ears and the couple looked at him waiting for him to expound.

"I would like your permission to court Hermione" he said and poor Mr Granger and just taken a sip of his coffee. He choked and the coffee landed on Harry's face.

"I'm so Harry" Emma cooed hurriedly taking a napkin and wiping his dripping face and Harry simply removed his round spectacles and placed it on the table and chuckled.

"Well that was certainly not the response I expected" he said and with a quick spell, his shirt and face were squeaky clean.

"Harry, are you seriously asking us permission to date our daughter?" Mr Granger asked clearly still in a state of shock.

"Yes I am. I care deeply about her and I would really like to pursue a relationship with her" he said and they could not doubt his intentions.

"Well I'm flattered that you would ask us permission but Hermione is her own person. If there is anyone you need to ask it would be her" he started.

"I intend to, once I return to England" he said.

"She's in England?" Emma asked.

"Yes she is. I'm afraid I cannot divulge any more information than that" he said clearly closing the topic for discussion and the couple understood.

"Well from what I've seen when you two were together in France months prior, she looked at ease, happy even, something that we have not seen in a while and as a mother that's the only thing that matters. I know that just by being with her, you make her happy. Something we have grown accustomed to from your childhood. She's been through much here Harry, she was withdrawn for a long time. She was often bullied by other teens because she was so logical and light years ahead of her peers. We often thought of moving back to England but she was adamant to complete her studies here. She's brave, the bravest person I know. You won't hurt her Harry, will you?" she frowned and Mr Granger placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, looking at Harry, conveying the same question.

"I promise on my life I will never intentionally hurt her" he said and they nodded in acceptance.

So there you have it, another chapter down. The next chapter should be completed soon. I've been busy lately and had zero time to write. Hopefully an update will be in the near future. Please leave your Reviews & PM's. Would love to hear from you.


	8. Holiday time

Hi all, back again with another long chapter.

That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some RR. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything pertaining to it belongs solely to J.K R and Warner Bros.

That evening he was walking up the grand stairway leading to Professor Dumbledore's office. He gave the password and the gargoyle moved granting him access to the stairway.

"Harry my boy, it's good to see again" Albus started, getting off his seat to greet his old student.

"Professor" he said coolly.

"To what do I owe the honour of your visit?" he asked sitting behind his desk.

"This" he said placing the heavily protected document on the table. Dumbledore read with great concentration and frowned. After completely reading through, he sighed, "You have made us all look bad. You're in your twenties and you've accomplished much Harry my boy. Your parent's would have been proud"

"Do you see the reason this needs to be a controlled asset?" he asked and the old professor nodded in understanding.

"I shall bring it up at tomorrow's Wizengamot meeting. Until then you need to get the magical signatures bound as soon as possible, even though it's in development phase. Accept this as an official to Wizengamot and I expect to see the Mage present as well as your representative team present. We can't have any abnormalities tomorrow" he explained and that was all Harry needed to hear.

He appeared at the entrance of Potter Manor and glanced at the flowers in his hand. He decided to put his plan to win Hermione's heart, in action. He saw these flowers in London and it looked perfect for her. He only hoped that she would accept it with an open mind.

He walked through the foyer towards her bedroom, determined to declare himself. He halted dead in tracks when he heard the sound of laughing. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was past dinner. He followed the sound and found himself heading to the family room. The sight that bestowed him was heart-warming; his family sitting in front of the fireplace and just having a good time, laughing and just enjoying themselves.

The highlight though was Hermione; she was seated near Alexis and was wearing one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen. He leaned against the door, watching them. Sirius had made a joke about Dan that had them roaring with laughter. She light from the fire reflecting off her hair as she tossed her head back in a hearty laugh took his breath away. He hoped and prayed to every deity that this was what his future had in store for him, just enjoying being around the people he loved.

Sirius was the first to notice him at the door with a faraway look on his face. He looked content something about him was different and he knew something big had happened. But he couldn't have chosen the worse time to return. Hermione followed Sirius eyes and the smile she wore dissipated and her eyes narrowed, almost cat like.

She got up and before anyone could stop she advanced on Harry. Wand in hand she threw multiple stinging hexes and jinxes at him. Harry was taken by surprise that he couldn't even counter. "Hermione! Stop this madness!" he panted and finally got his wand out and cast a shield. She was relentless. "How dare you? You pig! That was my work!" she yelled and everyone watched in fascination and amusement; Harry, the hard headed grouch afraid of a woman.

"How dare you lock me out of the library?" she screamed and let out another lashing of spells. He was actually perturbed; her spells were rattling his shield.

"It was for own good woman! You were wearing yourself out to the point of magical exhaustion! How could I not?" he argued and she didn't flinch.

"I don't care! Do you know what it was like here, trapped here without the use of the library? It was hell and now I'm going to make you pay Potter!" she said and threw another hex.

"Hermione, I'M SORRY, JUST, just stop!" He begged and the trio watching gasped. He never ever begged or apologised to anyone, other than them of course, this was a first.

When he saw that it was futile he yelled at them to leave. "On come on, I want to see who this ends" Sirius and Dan begged but Alexis knew better. "Let's go, you know how Harry gets when it comes to his work. Let's go, you can catch up tomorrow" she tugged on his hand and they men reluctantly left.

Once Harry saw that the coast was clear he dropped the shield, he had taken a few hits but he advanced on her predatorily. He gripped her wand hand and the wand instantly falling as he pulled her flush against him.

Both stood chest to chest, panting heavily and eyes locked in a deadly staring contest. "You are going to drive me crazy Mione" he growled out unable to help the arousal that threaten to overtake him.

"Why?" she asked breathlessly. She had so many emotions coursing through her in that moment. Being this close to him brought back all those memories she desperately wanted to forget.

"You make me do things I thought I would ever do" he whispered as he twisted her arm behind her pressing harder against him making her gasp.

"Not so tough now, are we?" he asked, his eyes roaming all over her flushed face, down her neck and finally landing on her parted lips. He gently wet his lips and tore his eyes away and met hers once more.

"Let me go" she whispered harshly averting her eyes, making her powerless against the intensity of his piercing gaze. _'I can't go through this again'_

"Why? So you can hex me again. I don't think so"

"_Va te faire foutre !" _she said adamantly. (Go fuck yourself)

"Really? Swearing me but I'd rather it be you" he chuckled huskily as his eyes focused on her lips once more and didn't notice her blanch.

He certainly didn't know where this boldness was coming from so he continued "You know, parading a pretend boyfriend is so cliché. Over done really; but you've succeeded where many have failed. I was livid at the thought of you in his embrace, even though I had no right to be" he growled, thinking about how terribly psychotic it made his thoughts. Her eyes bulged comically when she heard the words' falling off is lips.

Again, he was oblivious to her reactions as he bent down to taste her lips only to find her cheek. He chuckled and placed a kiss below her ear instead.

"I want you Hermione, badly even" he breathe into her ear as he nipped her ear, kissing her sweet spot again before pulling away to finally take his prize. He expected to see his hot vixen but instead he had a bucket of cold water fall over him.

"No, you can't do t..this to me" she stammered and he saw the tears fall.

"Hermione, I'm ...I just..." he stroked away her tears, releasing her hands.

"No Harry, I can't. Not again" she whimpered as she broke away from him and stomped away towards her bedroom, leaving him behind.

Harry finally had a glimpse of how deeply he had hurt her. It was never meant to be that way, he hadn't planned to reunite in France, the longing of being with her crept up on him, like cold water to a man in a desert dying of thirst. Hell he didn't mean for tonight to turn out the way it did.

He glanced at he destroyed bouquet of flowers lying on the floor. He had let his hormones consume and control him and in the process hurt her. He picked up the flowers and with a wave of his hand, it came back to life. He knew that if he were to win her heart it would mean putting his heart on the line for her to see. He needed a do over. He needed to show her that they would be great together. He conjured a vase and placed the flowers before asking Winky to place it in her bedroom.

He walked off to his study to finalise all paperwork for Wizengamot and his lawyers. He had to put this to rest as soon as possible so he could focus on her.

"Babe, you know I've never asked you about your childhood, which I respect, but I would really like you know about Hermione. She seems like a decent person" Alexis asked as she brushed her hair, looking at Dan's reflection in the mirror.

"No! What you are asking, very loudly might I add, is if there is anything going on between Harry and Hermione?" he chuckled and flipped the page of his magazine and she sighed.

"What's the sudden interest in Harry's love life all of a sudden?" he asked looking at her.

"Don't you find it curious that he goes off to an extended business trip, to France, no less and then returns even more broodier than usual. Not to mention the big white elephant in the room when Hermione was introduced. Something more is going on between those two and you noticed it too" she said and he sighed.

"Yeah, I did. Knowing Harry, something probably did transpire between the two in France and by the looks of things, didn't end well for them. And as much as I would like to see them make a go of things, I wouldn't want her to get hurt. Harry had always taken care of me; he was forced to be my parent when we were younger and he missed out on so much, no one wants to see him happy more than I do. Just not at her expense" he said sadly as she walked over and held his hand.

"She just meant a great deal to us, she was our lifesaver, our sister, pretty much everything when we were young. Harry was devastated when she moved; he became Vernon's battering ram, he took their entire wrath so that I would be spared. I was distraught because the Grangers actually loved us more than the Dursley's did. He never complained, not once and then one day when he turned 11, everything changed" he finished and she got the idea.

"Wow, I never knew what Harry had suffered so badly. It pretty much puts everything into perspective now. And here I thought he was gay" she joked and he chuckled.

"He cares about her; I can see it in his eyes. He genuinely does" he said kissing her hand.

"Yeah, tis a pity about the bouquet though"

"What bouquet?" he frowned

"The bouquet Harry had in hand when he arrived. You couldn't have been that distracted not to have seen it. Good taste for someone who is clueless as he"

"I didn't see it. How do you know it was for Hermione?" she rolled her eyes at her fiancé's cluelessness.

"I'm marrying into a family of oblivious males" she sighed dramatically and he poked her rib and waited for to elaborate.

"Oh yeah Harry just happened to bring flowers for Winky because he missed her soooooooo much" she said in a tone that was dripping in sarcasm.

"He could have brought it for you?"

"Don't be daft Dan, have you ever seen Harry give me, let alone any woman flowers or anything really that would express his feelings? Even you can't be that oblivious to the fact" she said on the verge of smacking her forehead he looked at his hands thoughtfully and finally it dawned on him.

"Wow" he whispered.

"Yeah wow Mister Oblivious"

"Those flowers never stood a chance, I mean did you see those two?" they laughed together.

"This could be a good thing, for him, for the both of them really" he said and she nodded.

"Then perhaps we should help them find their way, very subtly of course" she suggested and he groaned.

"How about we go off on a vacation to one of those private villas in the Maldives? It will give time to work on my tan and we can always sneak off and leave those two alone. Nothing brings a couple together like a tropical island getaway." She suggested hopefully and he smiled.

"You mean a vacation? In the middle of their project! Haha, like that's going to work. You'll have a better chance of Harry actually going on a date with Amanda than those two leaving in the midst of their work" he snickered.

"Well according to Hermione, she was just about adding the finishing touches before they move to development"

"She told you that?" he asked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, that was all she could say though. We get on pretty well, she and I"

"That's a good thing though" he said and she smiled.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to get into my pants?" he barked out a laugh at his own joke.

"Mister Potter, how dare you?" she responded aristocratically.

"Well I wouldn't mind getting in your knickers" he said pulling her onto his lap before kissing her.

"So is that a yes?" she asked and he nodded. She squealed before closing the gap and capturing his lips.

Hermione awoke after a night of restless sleep. She couldn't believe Harry; he upped and left without so much as a word, forbids her to work and locks her out of the library of all places and cuts off all communication. And then he returned, at first she was relieved to see him and at the same time all the pent up frustration and anger she felt came bubbling to the surface. Now that she thought about it, she was brash to act out in such a way; he was after all the client.

But then he had said the one thing she had hoped with all her heart for, he wanted her. Her body screamed and begged for her to jump into his arms but her heart refused. He had propositioned her and that was it. But where did this sudden change come from? She thought.

And things he said 'You know, parading a pretend boyfriend is so cliché. Over done really; but you've succeeded where many have failed.' Pretend boyfriend? Who was he even talking about? Emile? But that was just us discussing the patent. Besides Emile is gay and why on earth would I do something that petty?

What stood out was the fact that Harry was jealous 'I was livid at the thought of you in his embrace, even though I had no right to be'

Why? Why would he do this now? He wasn't drunk and he seemed so sure of himself.

'I want you Hermione, badly even' those words where almost her undoing but also a cold slap in the face. It was sex that's all it was. He said so himself and she didn't want do go down that road again. She would rather have him as a friend than a partenaire de baise (fuck buddy). With that she decided to put everything that happened behind her, especially since her time in England was almost up. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

"My apology for intruding Miss but Master Harry Sir has asked me to extend this invitation to you. He said that your presence of utmost importance" Winky appeared and handed her an official looking letter.

She took it from the elf not before thanking her and gasped. It was the official Wizengamot seal; she quickly broke the seal and read through the letter. It was Harry's official patent approval council meeting and it was in two hours and she was invited as Harry's second. That meant she would need to present, she thought horrifically, she wasn't prepared. And with that she burst into a panic run to find Harry.

She looked everywhere but couldn't find him, eventually she called Dobby; who informed her that Harry had left earlier and that he had left a message that she should not panic and that everything was taken care off. It helped her calm a little but she was already running a tad bit late, so she dashed to make herself presentable for the meeting.

"Mr Potter, can you explain why you would want to create a product that could be a security threat to our world?"

"Indeed I can. No child should have to grow up the way my brother and I had to, parents murdered all because a botched mission revealed the identities of the Auror Corps at the time..."

"A terrible tragedy at the time however we have put in laws to protect them since -"

"Yes laws but the enemies don't work by these laws do they? This is why I had studied the Muggle Military defence plan and devised the concept for this broom. You see these are not as black and white as they seem. They have state of the art defensive and offensive charms and spells. Not to mention the revolutionary 'magical intent feature'. This feature will allow the rider to amalgamate the wand and the broom"

"Again Mr Potter, why would you want to create such a weapon? Do you expect us to believe that you wouldn't sell these to the highest bidder? Including an enemy?"

"You are clearly mistakening me for my competitors" Harry said with a knowing smirk.

"If I had any intention of doing so, I would already have. I would not have wanted to patent this to the British Ministry of Magic, which is why I'm here after all. This could be the breakthrough the Wizarding World need with regards to their defence force. It's entirely up to you."

"Even if we do approve this, there's no guarantee that they won't still end up in the hands of our enemies"

"That's where things get interesting, which I will not disclose due to the nature of the product" Harry countered.

"Very well, we will re-convene in two hours with our verdict"

Harry sighed in relief and his team where very confident they had accomplished their feat. Hermione was in awe at Harry's confidence. She knew now why he had this project so close to his heart, it was about his parents. So was proud of him.

"Hermione" she was interrupted from her reverie and her eyes locked with a startling pair of emerald green eyes. It held so many emotions but the one that stood out was that of concern.

"Are you okay? Everyone's almost cleared out" he said still unable to break their gaze. They stayed there for an eternity just taking each other's presence. Each in a world of their own with their own thoughts.

"Sorry, I was a little distracted by my own thoughts" she finally broke from her reverie and he nodded.

"We have some time before we have to return, would you like to head out for lunch?" he asked in a tone laced with hopefulness.

"Don't you have to convene with your legal team before the verdict?" she asked slightly taken aback with this nonchalance especially with so much on the line.

"We've done all we can, it's now entirely up to the council. I could really do with a meal right about now, I've kind of skipped several meals" he admitted.

"So would you like to join me? I know this quaint place that serves the best Italian" he added and she contemplated his offer.

"Or we could have something light instead" he offered.

"Actually Italian does sound nice"

"There speciality is this lamb shank, which is an absolute riot" he added and she bit her lip.

"Sure, let's go. I'm starving actually, I've missed a few meals myself" she mumbled.

True to his word the restaurant was a gem in Neal's Yard. The brightly coloured buildings added to the charm of the restaurant. She was buzzing with excitement until they were greeted by a strikingly beautiful blond woman, around their age. She seemed to have eyes for Harry, who didn't seem fazed by her appearance.

"Mr Potter, welcome back. Your usual table?" she greeted in a rather cheerful disposition much to Hermione's chagrin, though she brushed it off immediately. She had no right over Harry.

"Yes please Miss Roberts" he said forcing half a smile and Hermione noticed his agitation.

She led them to a table hidden from prying eyes, perfectly Harry. He was after all a very private person. She watched the stewardess openly gawked at Harry until he reached out and held the chair for Hermione. Hermione on her part blushed at the sentiment and thanked him. It seemed the stewardess was unaccustomed to seeing the handsome gentleman with a date and with that she excused herself with a promise to return when they were ready to order.

"You scared off your girlfriend Mister Potter" she teased once he settled down.

"Don't even start with that, she has been that way ever since she started working her. Mrs Maldini, the owner, had given her a strict talking to after she had seen how much it bothered me. Let's just say, I kind of felt bad when they threatened to give her the boot. Besides -" he gave her a smouldering look over his menu, "the position of girlfriend is off the table. That honour belongs to the woman I'm currently dining with. That is if she'll have me of course" he said trying to be as nonchalantly as possible before going back to reading the menu.

Hermione stared at the back of his menu in disbelief. He just asked her to be his girlfriend as if he it were nothing. No awkwardness, no mumbling, no anxiousness. NOTHING! Who was this man?

"Harry, what -"

"Harry, il mio bel ragazzo(My handsome boy)" they both looked up and found a plump old lady, beaming down at them.

"Salve, come va? (How are you?). Harry got up and hugged the woman and gave her a charming smile.

"I'm well thank you Mama Maldini and You? How's Papa Maldini?" he asked in Italian and Hermione was amazed by her friend. He was so at ease with himself and he even initiated the hug. What else was he hiding from her? Oh she definitely wanted to find out.

She broke out of her musing when they turned to her, "Is this your lady friend? She's very beautiful" the old woman smiled her and she blushed madly when Harry gave her a breathtaking smile that turned her insides to jelly.

"Not yet Mama, she's still undecided" Harry turned to the lady and gave her a wink.

"No need for menus, the lamb shank is ready, it's his favourite thing to eat here" she turned to Hermione who nodded and then she went off on her way leaving the two alone.

"She's brilliant" Harry said pouring them a glass of wine. Hermione cocked and eyebrow at him.

"Just a glass each now, we'll have a verdict to celebrate later" he said with a wink.

"You're awfully confident that they will pass the patent" she said and he nodded.

"They don't have enough reason not to. Besides, the moles were in there. They know what I say is true"

"But their expressions say otherwise" she countered.

"True, I've not made many friends in my short life. Some of them are still pissed that they were denied a chance at Thunderbolt after it had taken off. That and most are royally pissed that their courtship invitations for their daughters were rejected. It's silly really"

"Indeed, considering you had done all the hard work and they just want to be a part of the gravy train" he nodded.

"This is a bit of classified information -" he whispered and inconspicuously cast a quick muffliato before continuing.

"I know Dan and Alexis refuse to live at Potter Manor so after careful consideration a portion profit from the sales will be given to Dan and Alexis as a wedding gift, something that they could comfortably start their lives in any way they wish."

"Draco and I agreed that the profits would be best not invested in Thunderbolt but rather the people in our lives and making a difference in the lives of the people around us. We have invested in orphanages, magical and muggles but I had some time to mellow over a few things, one of them being children being forced into foster homes and vice versa. So I had a vision of a place where these children can grow in a nurturing and loving environment. They won't endure cruel punishments, hard labour and just have a chance to be children. We employ people who share the vision and sentiments alike. It would be like Hogwarts, just a little less magical" he said and for the (she had lost count) umpteenth time she was in awe him.

"That is a selfless and beautiful gesture Harry" she said reaching for his hand. He intertwined their fingers and marvelled how perfectly they fit together. "I'd really like to be a part of that project too, if you want me to that is" she found herself saying and he smiled that smile again, "I'd like that"

"But I would like something else a lot more" he said right before their food was placed before them.

"This smells delicious" she said and moaned in delight after taking a bite and Harry smiled.

"Good?"

"Divinely so"

"Glad you think so"

"So what's the something else?" she asked around halfway through her meal.

"Hmm, Pardon?"

"You said you wanted something else, what was it?" she elaborated

He swallowed his bite and took a slip of his wine, all the while staring at her, "You"

She choked and quickly grabbed a napkin to cover her mouth, "Excuse me?"

"Last night could have gone better, I admit. I didn't mean to upset you in the way which I acted. It's just that lost myself and I find that I tend do it often when I'm around you. I've always prided myself for being able to lead a bachelor's life without the scandals but something was always amiss. It was empty, everything I've done felt empty even though the intentions were pure. That was until I found myself in France. I began seeing things, making a right fool of myself. See the thing is I was yearning for a certain brunette, who I stumbled upon in her own bookshop. The rest, as they say, is history. The days in which I was away, gave me time to reflect on exactly what it is I felt and I came to startling realisation"

Hermione was about to have an anxiety attack unbeknownst to Harry.

"I.. I'm tired of being alone, more especially I'm tired of being afraid of love. I've always felt unworthy of it and after I left France, I knew that I had wounded you deeply, unintentionally of course. I had to see a therapist, to help heal the wounds from my childhood especially if I ever wanted to lead a normal life. What I'm trying to say is that I'm yours Hermione - " he finally looked at her and the smile he had slowly dissipated, "but you're not there anymore. You do.. you no longer feel the same" he stuttered and pulled his had away from hers.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I should not have" he started to get up when she grasped his hand.

"Wait" the speed in which his head snapped, one would assume he had whiplash.

"I .. I honestly don't know what to say. My heart and mind are at war with each other right now. I understand everything that you've said and I know you better than you think Harry, but what you have to understand is that I need time" she whispered.

"Time?"

"Yes, to come to terms with everything. Is that too much to ask of you?"

"No, of course not. Take all the time you need" he smiled.

"There's one thing though, could we not tell anyone about us. I really would not want to be the butt of Sirius' jokes" he begged and she nodded in agreement.

"Let's finish up and head back to the Ministry. There's something I need to add before they pass the patent" he said and they quietly finished off their lunch.

Harry was right, the design was patented and production went on. They worked hard to get everything and as discussed. The brooms were a success and were sold first to the British Ministry of Magic Auror Corps before a further decision was made by all parties to have other these brooms available to Auror Corps around the world. It was a few months after everything had finally settled and both Harry and Hermione worked extremely hard to make it a resounding success.

Hermione had got the time and space she had requested from Harry. He was his usual self and even though they worked tirelessly, she often wondered if he was still serious about them. It was something that bothered her but she hardly had time to dwell on.

Harry had invited a few of his closest friends and family to Potter Manor, he had an announcement to make. He opted for an intimate dinner with them and what surprised them was when his legal representatives appeared.

"So everyone is probably curious as to why I invited you here" he started

"Oh yeah, you've decided become a monk?" Sirius snickered and everyone chuckled.

"Very funny Dogfather but no"

"So with the success of the Bolt X, I want to thank each and every one of you for your input. I know I could not have done it without you" he said looking at Hermione who smiled and sipped her champagne.

"So there are few things I need to get out and it starts with the name, we named the broom Bolt X and it was a strategic decision. When I pitched it to Draco we had an understanding and came to this conclusion. I only hope you will agree" he looked up at the confused faces with the exception of Hermione and Draco.

"Profits from the broom will not be re-invested into Thunderbolt. I've had a project that has been close to my heart for some time now and will now become a reality. Fifty percent of the profit will go into the development of the Lily Potter Haven for Children" there were a few gasps and raw emotional magic in the room but Harry pushed on.

"Dan and Alexis, I know that you do not wish to live on any of the Potter Ancestral homes and I don't blame you, some of them are ghastly" he chuckled

"So my gift to you both is a ten percent share of the profit to start your life afresh. It's my wedding gift to you" Daniel and Alexis was numb; Hermione wrapped her arms around the both of them and gave them a subtle squeeze.

"Harry, I don't know what to say" he started and walked up to his big brother and even though he knew Harry hated public display of affection he hugged his brother hard and Alexis followed with a kiss and hug of her own.

"You don't have to say anything. Even if I'm not always around, I know my baby brother is well taken care off" he said.

"Next Mr and Mrs Malfoy, you have trusted Draco and I when we went into this venture and I cannot thank you enough for all your support. Each of you will get five percent of the profits. A decision that Draco and I made together. It's our way of saying thank you for trusting us. Both Malfoy's embraced the young man and thanked him and Draco.

"Sirius, Remus, I cannot express how much you have changed both the Dan and my life but if it had not been for you and how much you mean to us. You are my last link to my parents and for that I am grateful. Both of you will five percent for your future endeavours. Sirius was at a loss so were Tonks and Remus. They embraced him ardently and thanked him.

"Right, I know we agreed to disagree on this Drake but Astoria, you have stood by both Draco and I and never once complained. I know neither you nor Draco would accept this so, five percent to my Godson as an inheritance from his favourite person in the world" he said cheekily and Astoria through herself in Harry's arms and thanked him.

"So that leaves me with 15 percent, right so five percent will go towards a trust fund which later be decided. So that leaves me with ten percent. Right, this is a battle waiting to happen" he steeled himself.

"Hermione" he started and she looked up at him in disbelief.

"I meant what I said about none of this being possible without you. You and your family have been the best thing about my childhood. I will forever be grateful for the day I met that bossy, kind hearted girl who wormed her way into our lives. Then to my delight when I found out that she was a part of the world I'm a part of. Hermione, this ten percent will be for your future endeavours, even if that means bringing the Silver Otter across the pond" he smiled but before she could approach him to thank him he spoke.

"Please sign the papers that Charles has to make it official and that would conclude tonight's gathering" he said and walked out leaving the formalities to be completed.

He stood out on the balcony of the library and sighed. It was all finally over. He was relieved, glad even though there was just one thing that was bothering him, Hermione. He did the gentlemanly thing and gave her the time and space she requested but he was now more confused than ever. She hadn't said or indicated otherwise. He felt the dread creep into his bones, her actions or lack thereof where speaking loudly. She didn't want to be with him.

"Is this how it's going to be from now on?" a familiar voice came from behind him and he sighed.

"You give everyone the gift of a lifetime and then run off to be alone, very unbecoming of you Harry" she said and he closed his eyes.

"So now it's the silent treatment?" she leaned against the balcony looking up at him.

"It was an emotional day" he croaked

"I never got to thank you. It was utterly unnecessary because I was paid for my services but thank you" she smiled fondly for a moment and he caught it.

"The Silver Otter just might make it across the pond" she started.

"Might?" he asked

"Yes well that would depend if I would want to relocate to England" she said thoughtfully.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Well, the man that propositioned me has distanced himself from me and I don't know where we stand anymore" he paused and looked out into the gardens.

"Perhaps he felt that your actions or lack there off, spoke volumes and he wanted to spare himself"

"Well that's absurd seeing as they were both equally busy and she had an inkling that he was the one that put the distance between them"

"Well it seems we're at an impasse" he said looking at her with such intensity it set her skin on fire.

"Not necessarily" he looked at her to explain.

"Well I have my decision, though I'm not sure if it is still what you want" she smiled shyly and his brows shot to his hairline.

"Hermione" he whispered turning her to face him

"Nothing's changed" he said gently closing the gap and right before their lips met someone cleared their throat.

"Prongslet! Dan and Alexis asked me to get the two of you, they have something to discuss" he said barely attempting to hide the amusement from interrupting their almost moment. Hermione excused herself first and Harry watched Sirius wink at her.

"Sooooo, how long?" Harry gave him a hard glare and walked away rolling his eyes at the snickering.

"Harry, now that everything is finally over-" Dan started

"Let's go on a vacation" Alexis interrupted.

"Babe? So much for subtly bringing it up" he groaned.

"Vacation?" Harry asked in confusion looking to Hermione who shrugged.

"Yeah, I've already booked a private Villa in the Maldives for all of us but it seems no one is available and we leave tomorrow" she said in a rush.

"And you invited everyone today?" Harry asked.

"Yes well we were busy with wedding preparations so we didn't have time" Alexis said in finality.

"Come on Hermione, you look like you could use a months' vacation and besides, we won't get our deposit if we cancel last minute" she added and watched as Harry rolled his eyes.

"It does sound nice" Hermione said.

"The villa is gorgeous, surrounded by white sands and glorious turquoise waters. We could get tanned while these two try diving" she chuckled.

"So just to be clear, it's just the four of us? On an island vacation? A Muggle Island?"

"Yes, yes and yes. Does that answer all your questions?" Alexis answered and Dan smacked his hand over his face. Alexis had a way of annoying Harry, something Sirius quiet enjoyed.

"Hermione, come on" she begged.

"Sure why not" she conceded and Harry agreed.

"Great. We leave at 10am tomorrow" she said tugging on Dan's hand, bidding them goodnight.

"So, romantic couples vacation?" Sirius popped in smirking. Hermione blushed and bid them goodnight and made her way to bed. It was going to be a long week.

The next day, they found themselves flying over the islands and what a magnificent sight it was; those different shades of blues melding and creating this paradise. Hermione had her fair share of travels and the Maldives were far down the line. Her favourite places were by far found along the Mediterranean, Greece, rich with history and culture and one of the strongest magical communities. She found herself there often, so often that she thought about investing in a place of her own.

"So I was thinking maybe we could go to the night spa first Hermione, just a girls night" Alexis said looking up from the brochure in her hands and Hermione excitedly agreed.

"Really? And what do Harry and I do?" Dan asked grumpily, obviously wanting to spend time with her rather than his brother on a romantic getaway.

"There's night scuba diving or you could join us at the spa. I think that would be a better idea. I mean what better way to unwind than a relaxing massage?" she suggested and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Sounds good" Dan said earning him a quick smack on the lips and when Harry rolled his eyes yet again Alexis decided to stir the pot.

"Don't be so repulsed by p.d.a Harry, when you meet that special someone-" she said casting a surreptitious glance at Hermione before continuing, "you won't be able to keep your hands of her or him for that matter" Dan snickered and both Hermione and Harry were shell shocked.

"What?" Harry asked affronted by her insinuation. He had no problems with people's sexual preference but he was most certainly not gay or bi or that matter. He knew that this was the perception many had of him but his own family?

His thoughts were halted when he felt a hand atop his, gently caressing it. He looked down and was mildly surprised to find it was Hermione, "she's joking Harry" she whispered and he nodded still feeling unsure of himself.

They landed shortly afterwards and were ferried to the villa on a separate island. Harry and Hermione were the last to get off the boat when she tripped on the edge of the boat and almost toppled into water below but Harry caught her hand and pulled her flush against him. He smirked and at her, "we barely checked in Hermione, your swim can wait"

And that's how they spent the next few days, they tipped toed around each other, teasingly. Not after the disaster with the bookings. Harry was livid because he had gotten the short end of the stick though he didn't mind sharing a bed with Hermione, they wasn't there just yet. Little did he know that Alexis had intentionally booked a two bedroom villa for the four of them. Harry spent his nights sleeping on a comfortable lounger. They couldn't use magic because it would have been too obvious.

He and Hermione had spent time walking around the island and just talking and enjoying each other's company without the annoying lingering presence of his soon to be sister in law. She had the audacity to sign them up for tango lessons. Sure he knew his way around the dance floor courtesy of Narcissa Malfoy but no one needed to know that. Alexis had pretty much blackmailed them into the dance lessons because it was something she wanted performed at their wedding.

Harry found himself staring at the dance floor where the men were ogling the women clad in their tango dresses. They were told that they needed to dress sensually which was understandable but what really riled him up was the fact that Hermione was paired with a prick who was a little too handsy in his opinion. She only ended up partnerless because he refused to be a part of this joke, now he wasn't so sure.

He sat at the bar and nursed his drink watching intensely as Hermione moved awkwardly in the pricks arms. She most definitely knew how to tango and remembered how eager she was when 'Lex suggested it and the disappointment on her face when he adamantly rejected the proposal. He sure felt like a dick now and with that decided to push his pride aside and walked up to Hermione and glared at the prick, who scampered away in fear.

"I thought you didn't want to make a fool of yourself" she smirked successfully hiding the inward relief from being saved from dancing with the creep.

"Well there was a damsel that needed rescuing" he wiggled his brows and Hermione almost had an aneurism.

"I'm capable of handling myself Mister Potter" she gritted out

"I'm well aware Miss Granger but I do think that you needed a capable lead rather than a fumbling, bumbling fool" he said smugly.

"Capable? That's rich"

"I assure you I can handle my own"

"Care to make a wager?" she asked

"Ooooh I do like challenge. What are you thinking smarty pants?"

"You have to wow me with your moves -"

"That doesn't seem fair seeing that you could easily deny being wooed by my magical feet"

"Very unlikely but it's a fair argument. Very well then, the crowd decides and should we succeed we will extend our vacation and go Portofino on a yacht just the two of us" she smirked and Harry smiled liking the odds.

"And if we lose?" huskiness in his voice could not be hidden.

"You chose" she responded in an equally low voice and Harry couldn't contain his pleasure and with that Harry quite literally dragged her to the dance floor and signalled the band and pulled her flush against him as the song began.

Harry moved with fluidity and authority and the thrill of dancing with such a capable lead excited her. They moved cheek to cheek across the dance floor and their moves demanded the attention of everyone around the club. Neither cared nor noticed as they feasted on the intensity and passion the other exuded. And by the end of the dance when Harry had Hermione's leg wrapped around his waist and bust pressed against him panting in each other's face, the entire crowd were breathless and stared at the couple in awe, none of them stunned beyond belief as Dan and 'Lex. The crowd erupted when the song reached its poignant end which broke the magic between Harry and Hermione. Harry excused himself and left Hermione to fend off Alexis and the rest of the dance class.

He walked out to the beach and sighed, yet again Hermione had taken him to a place which was previously unknown to him. He hated being the centre of attention and he hated the fact that he left her alone to fend off the vultures but he needed to gather his thoughts and plan a course of action in his pursuit of a relationship with her. It seemed they both had an unspoken agreement that they were finally on the same page. With that he made a few calls and planned their next adventure, this time just the two of them.

She found him on the hammock outside their villa, staring at the stars contently. "Is this how it's going to be?" she asked sitting on the lounger nearby.

"What do mean?"

"Blow everyone away with and I quote, 'the hottest and most passionate dance they have seen in a while' and then run away and leave me to fend for myself. Have you met Alexis?" she asked while rubbing the soles of her feet.

He got off the hammock and sat down beside her before gently taking her foot and massaging it, "I had preparations to take care off" he smirked at her frown.

She couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips, "that feels so good" she hissed.

"Where's Dan and 'Lex" he asked closing his eyes, trying to concentrate on her foot rather than the erogenous moans coming from her mouth.

"They decided to spend some time at the club before heading for dinner in that underwater restaurant on the next island" she moaned.

The moment the last words passed her lips, Harry's was on her. He captured her lips with one of the most intense kisses imaginable and wasn't long until the lovers were reacquainted.

Please leave your Reviews PM's. Would love to hear from you.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi all, It's been a long wait between chapters and I apologise but I'm back again with another long chapter. This story is _**not abandoned**_

That's to those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some RR. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything pertaining to it belongs solely to J.K R and Warner Bros.

Hermione stirred and groaned her body was deliciously sore from the night's activities. After their kiss, Harry had carried her to the bedroom and made sure they were sated many times over before succumbing to their tiredness. She remembered every moan, every touch, every kiss and every word her whispered to her in the throes of passion and the thoughts made her body tingle. She smiled then turned to face the object of her desires though when she opened her eyes the smile instantly dissipated. She looked around the room and called out to him and when there was no answer her insecurities got the better of her. She hugged her knees and cursed herself for being a fool; the tears just didn't stop flowing.

She was so lost in her misery that she didn't hear the door open, "look who's up, I thought you might have whipped up an appetite because I certainly did so ordered us room service" Harry said cheerfully focusing on the tray he was carrying. When he caught her eye he almost dropped the tray.

"Hermione, what's wrong? Are you hurt, are you in pain? Do you need something for the pain?" he asked with genuine worry hurrying to the bed the fastest he could.

"You're here" she whispered when she saw him edging the bed.

"Yeah, where else would I be? I just got up earlier and had my run, though it was a mission tearing myself away from you. I wanted you to get some rest so I left you here and got us some breakfast on my way back. Where did you think -?" he stopped and realized what must have gone through her mind.

"Hermione, I'm not going anywhere. I meant everything I said and did last night. I have no regrets. Don't you trust me? I need you to trust me" he said trying to swallow the lump that formed in his throat.

"I'm sorry. I just panicked when I found myself alone. Old memories, I'm sorry" she whispered playing with her hands.

"It's perfectly understandable, just keep an opened mind. I'm not running away again. I need you to trust me Hermione, like I trust you" he said and gently captured her lips giving her a reassuring kiss. He climbed into bed and embraced her in his arms comforting her the best he could, trying to reassure her.

"I do trust you Harry, with my heart" he returned her smile with a special one of his own.

"Good, so what do you feel like having?" he asked wandlessly summoning her tray.

"Showing off much?" she teased, wiping away her tears getting comfortable in his arms before picking up a piece of water melon and taking a bite. Harry watched as the excess fluid escaped her lips. While reaching for a napkin, he bit into her melon and chuckled at her expression. As they continued to 'play' whilst eating, Harry's hand slowly crept underneath her camisole and it wasn't long before they were hot and headily grinding and thrusting until they were sated.

Hermione snuggled comfortably in the crook of Harry's neck then suddenly sat up, knocking him on the chin, "a little warning next time 'Mione" he groaned rubbing the sore spot.

"Harry! Dan and Alexis!"

He sat up wondering what his witch was on about, _'his witch'_ that's what she was. It brought a warm fuzzy feeling inside him. "Yeah, what about them?" he asked.

"Why are you so calm about this?" she practically screeched.

"Calm about what? 'Mione what are you on about?" still clearly confused by her outburst.

"They, they probably know what we've done! What we've been doing" Harry looked at her incredulously before he chuckled and then it turned into a full blown laughter, earning him a pillow to the face.

"HARRY!" she shrieked

"Quiet you or do you want them to know how good of a lover I am?" he smirked and she was about to retort but didn't when she saw him sitting up and resting against the headboard.

"We did have a long chat this morning." Before she could interrupt he continued, "they only got back this morning from their night out" and that seemed to gratify her. "And seeing me fix breakfast and well they figured it out" he rubbed his face and continued.

"I think that was the most awkward conversation I have ever had with Dan and that includes my therapist! Let's just say that my behavior since my return from France was interesting and when you showed up everything made sense. They 'knew' something happened between us and then the whole Emile incident, me going AWOL and our explosive argument when I returned" he listed all the events that lead up to that very moment and she sighed in defeat and sat beside him and allowed him to hold her.

"Did they take the news well? I mean I don't want them to assume that I'm with you for something as trivial as money or anything like that because that's the furthest thing from the truth"

"I know that and it they do too. I mean they did not so subtly plan this week long mini vacation with the intention that we would, how did she put it? Ah yes, 'eventually break the sexual tension and give into our desires' so yeah, they took it better than expected" he smiled.

"I know you're a very private person and didn't want anyone to find out about us Harry but we could have been a more discreet" she chastised and he brought her hand to his lips.

"Yes that's true but who better to know than our closest family and friends. Imagine if we were caught doing something scandalous say on a yacht in Portofino and it made the front pages of the Daily Prophet, how would we explain that?" he said trying to hide the surreptitious smile on his lips.

"A yacht, in Italy! Come on Harry be realistic" she chuckled.

"I am and this is meant to be a vacation so when I left you to fend off those vultures, I had got in contact with my secretary who booked us a private yacht where we will spend a week or two cruising around the coast of Italy. We just us, those two will be dumped in a hotel in Portofino. My intended and I will be spending, what I hope will be, a romantic cruise?" he said kissing below her ear earning him a breathy moan.

"We can't do it again Harry, we've already spent too much time in bed" she panted and he agreed but continued.

"Are you complaining?" he asked and she turned in his arms.

Around lunch they had finally made their way down and had an onslaught of snickers and teasing thrown their way. Harry joined in and it bewildered them, it was as if they were seeing a completely different person, which made Daniel beam with pride and feel overwhelming joy for his brother.

"So Hermione does Harry fair well in bed as he does in his business?" 'Lex asked and poor Hermione had been sitting with a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other. Let's just say, the book was painted red. She looked at Harry, who had been within earshot; the smug bastard winked at her and she knew some sort of payback was in order, "Meh, I've had better" she winked and heard him choke on his whiskey and smirked behind her book though she did hear him mutter 'liar' under a fake cough.

"Hermione, did you ask 'Lex if they are okay with the extended vacation?"She heard him asked a few minutes later as he sat down beside her.

"What extended vacation?" Dan asked moving beside his fiancé waiting for either of them to elaborate.

"Well Harry here lost a bet -"

"I wouldn't count it as a loss because either which way, it was a win for me" he said as he stared at her through hooded eyes.

"Okay, this is just creepy. I really prefer grouchy Harry" Alexis teased and it certainly got their attention as Harry glared at her and Dan snickered beside her.

"Now then, what's this extended vacation that you obviously planned to have alone but are inviting poor old us to tag along for?"

"Right then, how does a week in Portofino sound? There's this beautiful village, an exquisite hotel which will we'll spend a weekend at and then -" she explained until Harry blurted.

"A yacht cruise along the coast and we end the vacation in Rome"

"What?" the trio asked in unison.

"Harry, that's really nice and all but it's really expensive and weren't you the one who encouraged us to not live overtly lavish" Dan spoke up this time and the other two agreed.

"Yes but it's not every day that you have the time to spend with the people that mean the most to you and includes you 'Lex" he smirked and her jaw dropped.

"You don't need to worry about any cost, everything is on me" he finished and they still had a hard time taking it in.

"Besides, everything has been booked and I'll lose my deposit" he smirked at 'Lex once again. It seemed that he was on roll.

True to their word, the hotel in Portofino was beautiful. In fact everything was breathtaking. They had spent the weekend in Portofino. Harry had been mum on the details of the yacht that he had chartered and the morning they were about to board he had surprised them when they had been led to a small motorised boat.

"Is this another one of your jokes?" Hermione whispered to him and he shrugged

"Maybe"

They reluctantly climbed aboard then cast off and as they turned the bend, a massive yacht called Jo, awaited them. Hermione and Alexis grasped when the approached and turned to him.

"Harry you didn't" she started and again he shrugged.

The yacht was incredible, it oozed luxury in every aspect and it had a staff of twelve to cater for their every whim. Hermione was put out that he had gone out and to flaunt his wealth, though it was in his right to do whatever he pleased. He later pacified her and assured her that it was not in his nature to indulge in the luxuries too often and it was he had promised not do it again if it bothered her that much. They had agreed that they would talk about it before he had done anything like it again.

"So these are the cabins and because there are several and it would be highly inappropriate, you will not be sharing one with Dan" he looked at Lex and again he seemed to be on a roll earning a smack on chest from Hermione. Lex huffed and pushed her way past him into the cabin with a chuckling Dan in tow.

"So are you going to show me to my cabin then?'' Hermione chuckled looking at the closed door.

"You could have one or..."

"Or?"

"Or you could share the master cabin with me" he finished giving her a smile that made her insides flutter like an adolescent.

"Oh" she breathe

"It's okay Hermione, you can have any cabin. I'm not going to be angry -" he stopped when she placed a finger to his lip.

"I'd love to; it's just that you surprised me. I assumed you would want your own room after the whole villa nightmare" she explained. He gently slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"I want nothing more than to share this with you. This and so much more 'Mione" he said gently capturing her lips.

"Come on, let's go see the cabin. From what I hear it's amazing" he said taking her by the hand and leading her down the passage.

And a sight it was. The cabin looked like a five star hotel. It was decked in luxury. A king-size bed made of cherry wood, the linen made of the finest silk and Egyptian cotton and the room had gorgeous white leather loveseat. The room was dimly lit and just oozed romance. He led Hermione to the ensuite bathroom and was immediately blown away. For a boat, it was unreal; everything was crafted from cherry wood and boasted a Jacuzzi style bath, a large walk-in wet room which also doubled as a steam room. On the outboard flanks were his and hers dressing areas with large cherry-wood wardrobes and lustrous dressing tables to match.

"This is -" she started.

"Yeah it is. Do you still want another cabin?" he teased as he watched her take in the cabin's beauty.

"Harry, this must have cost a fortune!" she admonished and he shrugged.

"And like I said, it's a rarity that I actually splurge on the luxuries like these. Honestly Hermione, I just want us to have a nice relaxing vacation, unlike the disaster Alexia arranged, I still have a crick in my neck" he said holding his neck for added effect.

She sighed, "Fine but only if you allow me to pay for half the bill"

"That's ridiculous Hermione, this is my treat and it's inappropriate for me allow you to do that, especially if you had no idea what I was planning in the first place. So no, you will not be paying"

"That's a load of horse shit! So don't try to use that outdated chivalry on me"

"My answer won't change, chivalry or not" he spoke with finality.

She knew he wouldn't concede so she a better idea, "Since you're too stubborn to change your mind, how about this then, I will pay for all the activities until we return to England. And I won't take no for an answer"

"Fine"

"Good. And just for springing this surprise on me, we are going to an orchestra" she added and when he looked to object she added, "And I won't be changing my mind" and he huffed like a petulant child and grumbled.

"Awww, look at you, grumbling like a three year old. Too adorable" she cooed and wrapped her arms around his neck before she pecked his lips.

"Well if I have to suffer, I won't be doing it alone. Dan and Alexia will be coming with" he grumbled against her lips.

"If it will appease you" she smiled against his lips.

"Oh it would. Especially if we left them there alone" he smirked and she merely rolled her eyes.

They had an amazing lunch before lounging around the deck taking in the scenery along the coast before they moored for the night. They had an intimate dinner in the dinning cabin before they turned in for the night, the two men tired from the water activities and the ladies tipsy from all the wine they had consumed whilst watching.

The next morning they cruised to a seaside town where Hermione had booked them tickets for the orchestra. They spent the day walking through the town and found themselves enjoying it a lot more than they thought they would. The ladies excused themselves for a little shopping while Dan and Harry chilled at a bar nearby.

Later that evening, Harry was blown away at the sight of Hermione in an off the shoulder red lace dress, which hugged the curves he had come to crave too often. They had been intimate a couple of times since they reunited in the Maldives and it surprised him that even though they blew each other away with their sexual prowess, they spent more time doing things together and talking, something they both actually enjoyed and had it not have been for the concert he would have gladly taken her back to the boat and had his wicked way with until the break of dawn.

They made their way to the town's central garden court, where the concert was being held. It was a beautiful starry night and the candle light added to charm of the garden. It was more intimate than the usual decked hall which made it more appealing to Hermione and Alexis, Harry and Dan were just there for their partners.

Listening to the symphony made Harry look at Hermione, really look at her. He remembered everything about her from his childhood. Nothing had changed, well not entirely; she had grown into a beautiful woman, both inside and out. She was scarily brilliant and compassionate not to mention she was an incredibly gifted witch. She was so different from the women he's been with bar none. He was her first and yet after being with her less than a handful of times, it was as if they had been together for years, mind you that they hadn't moved past missionary. She nudged him and he couldn't help the blush that covered his face. She couldn't help the surreptitious smirk that escaped when she saw his face flushed, knowing exactly what he was thinking about and the evidence below didn't help his case.

He recovered swiftly and pulled her hand to his lips and smiled. She couldn't focus much afterwards; he continuously caressed her hand and set her skin alight. They were barely halfway through when she got up and tugged his hand and urged him to follow.

"Mione, what's going on?" he asked as she pulled him out of the garden venue.

She all but shoved him against a tree and kissed him before speaking, "You and I are going back to the boat" was all she said continuing to trudge down the cobble path with a shell-shocked Harry in tow.

Once they made it back on-board, Harry glanced around to spot any crew members but strangely found none. Hermione had kissed him senseless and the thoughts evaded him so he took control. Shoving her against their cabin door once they shut it, he quickly went to work divesting her of her clothes, practically ripping the (what was quite expensive) dress off her body. She made a grunt of indignation but Harry covered her mouth with his as he continued to assault her mouth.

He grasped her ass and picked her up and instinctively she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed. "It's been too long Mione" he breathed in her ear as he trailed kisses down her neck.

"Thinking about you drives me crazy and all I want to do is take you hard" he whispered against her now taut nipples. It seemed that his words had the desired effect because she was panting hard and was fighting hard to hold back the moans.

"it's okay love, don't hold back" he whispered as he swirled his tongue around his nipple and at his words, her eyes snapped open and she let out a breathy moan. "That's it" he smirked and moved lower.

His hands caressed her soft teats and landed on her knickers, which he ripped and discarded. He placed a kiss on her mound before roughly yanking her closer earning a yelp and he chuckled darkly.

"I'm about to enjoy my appetizer and I want you to tell me how much you are too, okay?" he smirked whilst circling her clit and she moaned her affirmation. "Good" he said bending down and licking the length of her slit.

Hermione bucked into his face and let out a throaty grasp, "that's it love" he whispered while latching onto her clit and licking.

He gently placed her legs over his shoulders and began to devour her, licking and nipping at every nook he could find. He had her thrusting into her face and he encouraged her until he brought her to an earth shattering orgasm.

"Harry" she breathed and he smirked, wiping off her juices from his face.

"Did you enjoy that love?" he asked watching her nod as he rubbed his now rock hard cock.

"Good. I'm going to fuck you now" he placed emphasis on the fuck and he watched her stiffen.

"Don't fret my love, you will enjoy every second of it. I assure you" he said slipping into her heat.

"Fuck, you're so tight" he cursed as he sheathed himself to the hilt.

"Harry" she moaned and held his hips still, giving her time to adjust. Harry took the opportunity to kiss her breathless.

He pulled out and snapped his hips and she cried out, "Harry"

"That's it, tell me how you want it" and he snapped his hip harder this time and she cried out louder.

"Hard it is" he chuckled and continued his relentless pace. Hermione gripped his shoulders and held on as incoherent sounds escaped her mouth.

Harry grunted on every stroke and eventually pulled Hermione flush against him. He pulled her hair back and feasted on her neck. "You know Mione; you're probably every man's fantasy because I know you're mine. You are the perfect mix of intelligence, a rocking hot body and so responsive to my touch. You're not a prude. In fact you're perfect for me" he panted as he helped her ride him.

Hermione was taken on a rollercoaster of sensations. Harry was invoking all of these feelings from deep within her and it turned her into putty in his hands. The feminist in her was screaming at her not to relinquish so much power to him but her heart said otherwise, she had lost that battle a long time ago. She was determined not to shy away from Harry, especially now that he was opening himself up to her.

With a particularly hard thrust Hermione let out a throaty moan and her inner walls began to flutter around him. In a flash he had somehow maneuvered her unto her hands and knees. To Hermione it was more satisfying as his cock drove deeper into her, bumping onto her cervix every now and then. It was definitely something she wanted to try again. He was her teacher and as a good student she was taking in all of his lessons.

"I must not be doing a good job, you're not making enough sounds love" he said as he snapped his hips harder than before and she moaned his name.

"That's better" he said and continued his hard thrusts and Hermione fell on her elbows. Harry could tell she was euphoric and almost on the verge. He leaned forward and pulled hair to the side and kissed her neck as he continued his assault.

"Are we safe?" he asked as his thrusts became frenzied, edging closer to his end.

"No, I.. I didn't …. Oh Merlin" she couldn't finish her sentence as she fell over. He looked around for his wand as he sped up his thrusts and found it close to the door.

"Just Harry" he let out a breathless chuckle. "Ahhh… Fuck it" he cursed and roared as he painted her with his essence. After he was well spent, he leaned on her back placing kisses on her soft moist skin.

"Are you good?" he panted, his body turning to lead with each second that passed.

"That was.. You were amazing" she chuckled and after a while he joined her.

"I didn't scare you?" he asked again and smiled, "never"  
After a few minutes he forced himself off her and laid beside her taking her in his arms. She was so content at that moment and everything about it just felt right.

"OH MY GOD! HARRY!" she sat up with a look of horror on her face.

"What? What's wrong?" He panicked.

"We didn't, you didn't. Oh no, this is bad" she babbled.

"What? What are y-" then it dawned on him. "Oh" he whispered.

"Oh! OH! Is that all you have to say?" she shrieked and Harry was taken aback.

"I can't believe you're so calm about this" she was stopped midway when he kissed her.

"Don't worry about it, nothing's going to happen" he held her face and kissed her again, easily pacifying her.

"You don't know that. You can't guarantee that" she whimpered.

"No I can't but if anything arises, we will handle it together" he said earnestly and she looked at him, really looked at him and if he looked closely he would see the love in her eyes"

"God I love you" she said and hugged him and to her amazement he laugh quietly.

"You're not put off by that?" she pulled away and looked at his calm expression.

"Absolutely not! In fact I was actually plucking up the courage to tell you that I feel the same way" he flushed.

"You..You feel the same-" she stammered and looked at him expectantly.

"I love you Hermione Jane Granger" he smiled, kissing her hand and she cried then threw herself in his arms.

"I've imagined this moment and honestly thought it was never going to happen and was truly okay with it" he heard her muffled voice.

I'm sorry it took this long. Wait! You were okay with it?" he asked almost in fear.

"You're unique Harry and I know how deeply you felt for me, I could see it. I was perfectly content with having you like that and I am willing to accept you as you are. And I promised myself that I wouldn't be disappointed if you never said because you have shown it more often than not" she explained and he pulled her closer.

"Now it makes it far easier to say, I love you Hermione. I love with all of my heart and I know that for as long as I live there will be no woman that I would ever love" he said getting up out of bed he threw on his pants before climbing out of bed.

"Harry, where are you going?" she asked taken aback by his befuddling behavior.

He returned looking at her with that smile that made her weak in the knees, "I know this is crazy and probably way too early, but" he said pulling out a red velvet box bearing the Potter family crest on it. He took a deep breath and opened the box and turned it towards her and she grasped at the sight.

It was a ring that sat upon a velvet pillow. It was an elegant platinum piece. A pear-shaped cluster diamond ring. It had two gorgeous emeralds on either side followed by five diamonds on each end. "This is a family heirloom, my father had it modified somewhat for my mother. Its goblin made and has protective wards and everything befitting. I know it's early but I want you keep it, you have my heart Hermione and I've given it to you freely, you are far more than a girlfriend, in fact I would be cheesy enough to say that we are soul mates. So whenever you're ready to be my mine in name put it on" he finished his voice cracking with emotion.

She didn't want to think about it, she took the ring with trembling hands and removed the ring and handed it to Harry. He looked up at her in disbelief, "Ask me now" she choked and he nodded and go down on one knee. "Hermione Jean Granger, will you marry me?" he choked out and she nodded, not trusting her voice to answer and he laughed in delight as he slid the ring and it automatically resized on her finger.

"You've made me the happiest I have ever been Mione. I can't believe you said yes" he chuckled admiring the shimmering jewel on her finger before kissing it.

"And you Mr Potter brighten up my life. I love you but I've never expected this to be honest, like I said I was more than content being by your side as your girlfriend" she admitted.

"I knew that I wanted you to be more than that the moment I walked away from you that night. I met your parents in France and when your mother let slip that Emile was gay, I knew that someone up there was giving me a second chance and I wasn't going to let you slip away. Not without a fight! I invoked the Ancient and Noble house tradition, I asked your parent's permission to court you -"

"Wait a second, you asked my parent's permission to court me?" she asked to clarify.

"Well yes. Our time together in France was the happiest I can ever remember been, except now. You see after I left you in France, I was miserable. I hurt you because I was broken on the inside and at the time knowing you were a Muggle just added to my bane. I had a lot of soul searching to do and everything brought me back to you. When we reunited at the Manor I was certain of what I wanted, I tried and then the entire Emile episode and you know how that turned out. As per Wizarding custom, I asked your parent's their permission; mind you they weren't too keen on giving it without your knowledge. I had made a few promises and so here we are" he winced when he saw her eyes narrow.

"I'm not sure if I should be pissed that you chose such an out-dated and slightly insulting approach-" she started and smirked when he grimaced and looked ready to apologise.

"But I think it's romantic, come to think of it, it seems very Jane Austen" she smiled and pulled him for a kiss.

It was the early hours of the morning when Harry and Hermione were abruptly thrown across the cabin when the yacht rocked violently after a massive explosion. There was smoke and debris everywhere, "HERMIONE? WHERE ARE YOU?" Harry called out quickly trying to shake off the dizziness. He heard her cough close to the bathroom and moved towards her.

"Harry, is that you?" she asked visibly disoriented.

"Yeah" she winced when she moved her arm. Harry looked her, "I think it's broken" she whimpered.

"What's going on Harry?" she stammered when they heard footsteps stomping on the deck.

"I think we're under attack. We need to get to Dan and Alexia" he managed just before the yacht swayed and tilted.

"I think the yacht is sinking, we need to get off now! Come on, I'll carry you" he said picking her up.

"I can walk Harry, just lead the way" she said and he carefully treaded to the cabin entrance.

"WAIT! ACCIO WANDS" she yelled and both wands came hurtling towards them.

Hermione gasped when she saw half the yacht had been blasted off, they heard spells being cast and someone trying their best to hold his shield, which caused Harry to kick into overdrive.

"Hermione, Harry" Alexia cried when she saw the couple.

"WHERE'S DAN?" Harry demanded.

"He heard the commotion and ran out" she stammered and Harry cursed.

"Both of you stay here" Harry commanded and ran out before Hermione could object.

When Harry reached the deck, it was a battlefield. Several cloaked men had Dan surrounded.

"Well look who decided to grace us with his presence, LORD POTTER. Come to watch us kill your brother" the masked man spoke.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded.

"Tut tut LORD Potter, you don't get to make demands. In fact, you are to hand over the Mage, if you want to save your brother's life" he snarled and Harry froze.

"We know all about her Potter, you should take better care of whom you employ Potter. Too many moles" he cackled.

Harry moved to lift his wand, "I wouldn't do that if I were you Potter" he spat pulling Daniel and shoving a wand into his neck. "Give us The Mage and you can have your brother"

For the first time in his adult life, Harry was helpless.

"RELEASE HIM" heads snapped in the direction of the command.

"I SAID RELEASE HIM AND THEN I'LL GIVE MYSELF UP. NO ONE WILL GET HURT" Hermione yelled.

"HERMIONE NO" both brothers yelled in unison.

"Very well, let him go. Now GRAB HER"

Hermione found herself in the clutches of these masked terrorists.

"You know Potter, all this could have been avoided if you sold the patent of those booms to the original bidder. Too bad, she will pay for your arrogance and she'll work the Boss until he has no use for her" he snarled.

Just when the portkey was about to be activated, "HARRY, DAN CLOSE YOUR EYES. Lex, NOW" she yelled and everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

Alexia cast a blinding spell that temporarily blinded the masked men; Hermione quickly whacked the man holding her hostage and ran. Harry and Dan wasted little time and began firing offensive spells at the men. Harry was hell bent on reaching the so called leader, he sent a bone breaking hex and it snapped his leg and he howled in pain. "I'm going to make you rue the day you were fucking born you worm" Harry spat and he grabbed the man and gripped the mask.

"FUCK YOU HARRY" the man spat and Harry blanched, that voice sounded too familiar but before he opened his mouth to respond, there was a tug in his naval, the portkey activated and pulled the two men away.

Harry opened his eyes but heard; "CRUCIO" and fell to his knees and writhed in pain.

"POTTER, this was better than expected. Well done WEASLEY, I will see to it that you are rewarded. NOW, get out of my sight and clean yourself up"

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNNN... CliffHanger

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	10. Chapter 10

Hi all, It's been a long wait between chapters and I apologise but I'm back again with short chapter... I should post another chapter soon. I'm almost to the end so if you're still around, I hope you enjoy it.

Those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some RR. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything pertaining to it belongs solely to J.K R and Warner Bros.

_Harry awoke from another nightmare, once too often over the past months or so. Always the same, his mother's scream and father's voice. Their lifeless dead bodies staring into nothingness then his brother, Godfather and Lex, tortured to death but nothing was as bad as watching Hermione being violated in front of his eyes and he was forced to watch._

_ He attempted to rub his eyes and realised the comfortable weight on his chest. It brought a smile of relief and pure joy to his face, a remembrance that it was just a dream and that they were safe. He and Hermione were together, 'we're together, she loves me and agreed to be his wife, His 'wife'!_

_His family had always hinted at him finding a partner and settling down and he his response always the same, it was not for him. He even went as far as comparing himself to Sirius, the bachelor life was for him. That was until his trip to France where everything had changed. The longing he had thought he subdued since his childhood returned a hundred-fold. _

_Hermione Granger; his first in so many ways. His first real friend, family, the first person to show him any sort of affection, this first crush, that he would never admit to anyone and his first kiss, mind you it was a kiss on the cheek when he had successfully retrieved her book from a playground bully. Nothing hurt as bad as when Hermione and her family had to move away to France. He felt his world implode; he withdrew into a shell and he only had Dan because the Dursley's sure as hell did not care about them. His demeanour to everything other than Dan had changed and Vernon did his best to ensure Harry remembered. He shuddered at the memory. _

_When they had reunited, he was unnaturally happy, but he had a secret, one he could not share with her. The more time he had spent with her he began to imagine what life be with her by his side, again not something that he would ever admit. His longing had only escalated after her birthday, once he had a taste of it, he could not let go. He tried; heavens know he tried but he could not go back to being alone. Everything was set in stone once it was revealed she belonged to the magical world. He had to try and try he did and here they were._

_His gentle caress unknowingly had awoken her, she stared at him, smiling slightly as she watched the emotions washed over his handsome features. She glanced at her hand that laying on his hip and smiled, she was his and he was hers. It was a feat on it's own because she knew with his upbringing Harry would have been content with just being and she was content with that, a change in name was all it was but she would be lying if she never imagined it. She unconsciously caressed his hip and he looked down at her._

_"I didn't wake you, did I?" he asked placing a kiss on her head._

_"Not at all. I never realised how handsome you were when you were deep in thought" she teased, and he chuckled. "Why didn't you wake me up?" she asked snuggling closer as he pressed her up against him. _

_"You needed the rest after our shenanigans" _

_"Is that what you are calling it?" she snorted and pinched his nipple as he hissed grabbing her hand._

_"You don't want to start something you won't be able to finish" he growled._

_"What makes you think I won't?" _

_"You are playing fire Mrs Potter!" he said kissing her ringed hand._

_"Mrs Potter? aren't we're jumping the gun there?" she asked as he rolled them, so that she was straddling him. _

_"Well you are, not officially but to me, right here" he said placing her hand over his heart, "you already are. In fact, you own my heart. You make me so happy Hermione that I feel so unworthy of it" he choked out and she was bawling at this point. _

_"If there is anyone who deserves to be happy Harry, it's you. I know what you had to endure during your childhood and you always put the happiness of your brother before your own. You do not have to hide your emotions from me. I swear, just as you have given me your heart, you have mine. I love you Harry, always" she said as she kissed him softly._

"GET UP POTTER! THERE'S NO TIME FOR REST. IT'S TIME FOR YOUR DAILY MEETING WITH THE BOSS" the brute shouted startling Harry awake. He looked around the cold, damp, and dark dungeon. It felt like years since he had been taken, his captives had him in chains, broken, battered, and wounded. He knew his body could not withstand the torture much longer. It was his dreams of Hermione that kept him alive and sane. He knew his time was drawing near and his only regret was leaving Hermione behind in this world.

"I'm surprised you've lasted this long Potter, why don't you just give the boss what he wants and end this" the brute said much softer.

"I'll never be bullied into submission! I could care less about what he wants but I would rather die than allowing myself to be bullied into anything. I have always hated bullies and I sure as hell won't stop now" he spat, and the brute scoffed.

"Don't try to be a hero Potter, the Boss always gets what he wants. Save yourself the pain and just do it" he said pulling on Harry's shackles.

"I'm touched by your concern, but I have my morals" he groaned as the shackles pressed against his wounds.

"Suit yourself Potter, you won't survive the night. Just make peace before we go" he said and pulled Harry through the dungeon.

Harry had been fastened to the ceiling and left to dangle. He had endured this daily since his capture. During his torture he tried to figure out the identity of his capturer, all he knew that they wanted the blueprints to the Thunderbolt, but little did they know that the secrets that they required weren't his to share. Hermione was the key. If he said anything then they would go after her and he would rather die.

"Potter, it seems tonight is your last night to give me what I want. It would be a pity if you lost your life at the end of it" the Boss spoke, and the frustration was evident in his voice.

"I'd rather die, and the secret goes with me" Harry chuckled and was rewarded with blows to the gut. Harry coughed hard and could barely breathe as blood spewed from his mouth.

"One more blow and you're done for POTTER; now tell me what I want to know or so help me I'll squeeze the life out of you myself" he bellowed when he saw Harry wane.

"Ok…I'll… tell ….you. On…..on… one…. Co….condi…tion" Harry breathed.

"Yes, what is it Potter?"

"Wh…who ….are y…you?"

"I guess I can humour you this once" he smirked. "You see, when your dearest father took down my master" he started, and Harry gasped.

"That's right! I am the new leader of the DEATH EATERS. The Ministry of Magic, a bunch of bumbling fools, thought they had gotten rid of us. Well had it not been of your blood traitor father we would have ruled the world. Once my f…. Voldemort had taken his last breath; we went into hiding across the world and slowly infiltrated the economy. I stepped in as leader and drew out my comrades under my leadership. We lurked in the shadows gradually gaining control of everything of importance. A new world order so to speak and the one thing we were missing were those blueprints your dearest mudblood mother created"

Harry looked horrified, "What? Thought we knew nothing about it? We have eyes and ears everywhere Potter" he smirked.

"Your mother created the most powerful Runes imaginable and you went out and created a broom? FOOL! Once I have it in my hands, I will bring the world to its knees."

"You still didn't answer my question. Who are you?" Harry growled.

"Ah, I am my father's son after all. I am Tom Marvolo Riddle, the third but you can call me Lord Voltaire son of Lord Voldemort" he stood proud. "Don't worry Potter I will finish what my Father started, and it ends with you" he laughed. "Now I believe you owe me something?"

Harry chuckled darkly and coughed violently and after a few moments spat a mouthful blood, "You're a fool Tom, just like your father. I don't have what you want! So, the jokes on you"

Voltaire was furious and bellowed, picking up his wand aiming it at Harry.

"You've used up all your lives half blood. Any last Words?" he asked furiously. Harry looked him dead in the eyes, waiting for death to come. "Avad…." He halted when they felt a violent tremor. "WHAT WAS THAT? GO CHECK IT OUT" he ordered.

Everything died down and it became eerily quiet. Suddenly there was a loud bang before the wall was blown apart.

Once the dust had settled, most of the death eaters were covered by the rubble and the rest were dusting themselves off. Voltaire had been flung across the room and was getting up when a blinding white light swept through the room.

Harry's limbs were still shackled, he had landed on the far end of the room. He groaned and coughed violently trying helplessly to catch his breath. He barely recovered when the light overwhelmed him, he could feel the magic envelope him, it felt warm and so familiar. He looked up and saw a hooded figure approach Voltaire, carrying a long staff with what looked like a flame at the head. Its aura was frighteningly savage. He could barely keep his open as his energy had finally used up. His eyelids became too heavy as he descended into darkness.

Please leave your Reviews PM's. Would love to hear from you.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi all, It's been a long been a long journey and I think this story had reached it's end. I am contemplating writing a extra chapter and then the epilogue but I will have squeeze that in sometime in the future. Anyways, I hope you have enjoyed the story, which was unbeta-ed. If that's even a word...

Those of you who have taken time to read this, much appreciated. Would love to hear from you. Please keep the flames to a minimal. Would love some RR. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything pertaining to it belongs solely to J.K R and Warner Bros.

"Hey son" Sirius smiled when Harry's eyes landed on him.

"Where..?" he looked around the room and winced when he tried to sit up.

"Take it easy there son; you've been through much. Even though Poppy and her team did a bang-up job patching you up, I would not recommend inviting her back on the account of re-injury. I value my life as much as anyone. That woman can be a riot at when angered"

Harry pulled himself against the headboard of his four-poster bed. He tried to think about how he ended up in Potter Manor, until the visions of the hooded figure flashed through his mind; "Mione?" he croaked.

"She's asleep" Sirius answered, and he frowned.

"She'll be here the moment she is awake. Do not worry son. So how are you feeling?" Sirius asked

"Tired. My body aches... starving" he groaned.

"It was touch and go there for a minute. We had to haul Madam Pomphrey here with a few other specialists in the field to work on you but luckily the damage to your body was repaired before we brought you home. All she had to do was monitor your vitals and tend to your superficial wounds" he explained as Harry frowned.

"Repaired?"

"Yeah, you we banged up really bad son. I guess I am explaining this to all backwards. You need a proper debriefing and that would be from your_ Fiancée_. I must hand it to Harry, you do not beat about the bush, so much like James. A yacht cruise, my goodness, bold too. I am happy for you son and after your abduction, seeing Hermione in action, I know you will be in good hands" Sirius said genuinely and Harry smiled painfully but the smile soon faded.

"I should let you rest. Madam Pomphrey will come around in a bit to check on you" Harry nodded.

"I know I don't often say this, but I love you son and this past month was shear hell for us. My greatest achievement was and will always be you and your brother. You have both grown into fine young men but as you grew and matured, I worried that _you_ might choose to live out your life as a bachelor, like me. Which is not a bad thing, mind you! but I feel that I would have failed your parents if you did" he sighed but pressed on.

"You both have been my redemption in so many ways. You of all people deserve to be happy son, with everything that you have endured since your childhood. Thank Merlin for that beautiful young woman that is asleep a few doors down, she is your saving grace in so many ways. Hermione is one phenomenal woman Harry, cherish her always" he finished and Harry, still slightly dazed witnessed his Godfather cry for the first time.

"Thank you, Sirius. I… thank you" he said hugging his godfather.

"Get some rest, we will chat more when you're fully awake.

Harry stiffened and as if only realized asked, "Dan, 'Lex? Where?"

"They are fine Harry. Dan has a handsome scar which according to 'Lex, makes him a hundred times hotter' and not only that but she must now fend off the vultures everywhere they go" Sirius laughed but Harry frowned. _His little brother had been hurt because of him._

"Rest son, everyone will be here when you get up" he whispered as he left the room.

True to his word, when he had awoken the second time around, he was surrounded by his family and friends; all except one that is. Hermione was nowhere to be seen and when he asked, he had given the same reason, she was asleep. He was glad that to see Dan and 'Lex in good spirits, in what was a horrifying experience for them, hell he was one to talk.

He was feeling a lot better and could walk around his room with little assistance from his elves. His wounds healed well apart from the internal aches. He wanted to see Hermione and was surprised when the elves tried to dissuade him, which had only peaked his irritation. _'Why were they so adamant that I leave her be? Did she not want to see me? Did her feelings change for me? Did she no longer love me?' _he thought. He quickly dismissed the elves and those thoughts as he made his way to her bedroom.

It took him twice as long that it normally would because he had made several stops to catch his breath. He felt a pull in his magical core as he drew closer to her bedroom and when he reached the door it was unmistakable; the magic was so familiar, so comfortable, it was so her.

He knocked on the door and waited, no response. He tried a second time, a third, fourth, tenth time, but received no response. His heart dropped to his stomach as his earlier thoughts proving all but true. He leaned against the door this time calling out, 'Hermione, It's me Harry. Please let me in?' he sighed defeatedly placing his head on the door. When he received no response, he steeled himself and pushed away from the door and that was when he heard a click. His head snapped when he heard a violent rumbling coming from the room. Steeling himself, he stepped in.

The image that befell him was between awe inspiring and horrific, in the middle of the room levitating above glowing, almost lava like runes was a heavily cloaked individual. The said person seemed to be in mediation and was surrounded by a green sphere with sparks crackling heavily within. The head was slightly lowered and covered by a hood that one would describe as being a part of an Unspeakable's robe. He looked carefully and his eyes fell to her hand?, 'Y_es definitely a her. Could it be?' _he thought he wasn't sure until his eyes landed on the all too familiar chain and ring.

'Hermione?' he whispered as he stepped towards the sphere.

He walked around the sphere finally had a glimpse of the familiar lips he had been acquainted with before all the drama had occurred. Indeed, it had been his _fiancée, his Hermione _that blasted down the wall and saved him, but how? He was growing desperate to know more. He craved to know more about this magnificent creature that he had just discovered.

'Hermione' he called a little louder but still nothing.

He studied her cloak, it was a high collared number and was deep green, looked to be made from silk and expensive silk at that. It had glowing gold trimmings but as he took a closer look, he found that they were runes. She wore boots that ended above her knees, matching the robe in colour and style. His eyes landed on the staff and that was something that looked like it came directly out one of her books. In fact, as he stepped back and took in the mediating form, he realised that this was straight from a muggle fan art. Young men, all men actually would fall at her feet if she walked into the muggle world, something he could do without. She was his and he found the thought of her modeling this exclusively for him extremely arousing. _If only they knew that their world was real._

Everything about this was surreal to him, it was not long ago he was prepared to leave this world behind and now he was standing before this glorious creature. It was all a dream until he walked around and saw the gaping hole on her shoulder that was somehow fresh. She was hurt and it was that moment that Sirius' conversation rang in his ears, like a gunshot.

'_That injury though, what do you think?'_

How did she get hurt? In his frenzy he unconsciously reached out for her and stepped into the runes causing a violent reaction with the sphere. The sphere violently dissipated throwing Hermione back onto Harry causing them both to land uncomfortably on the bed. Harry groaned and tried to sit up only to find her unconscious form laying against his chest.

He heard her give off a distressed groan, "Hermione, love, are you alright?"

"Harry?" she moaned

"Yeah it's me love"

"You're safe" she said hoarsely as she tried to reach behind and touch him before she began writhing in pain, alarming Harry.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" he begged when she was not responding. He moved her hood off and moved her until she was on the bed and to his horror his hands were covered in blood.

He remembered the hole on her shoulder, "Fuck" he cursed and called for his elves.

"Master called… OH MASTERS MISS IS OUT OF HERS MAGIC BUBBLE" Winky cried pulling on her ears, distressed by what she saw.

"GET MADAM POMPHREY NOW, HERMIONE'S HURT. … GO NOW" he demanded not taking his eyes of her.

He took in her appearance; her face was pale and withdrawn. He had not realised her clothes had changed into one of his shirts as her cloak disappeared. He did not have time to do much as Madam Pomphrey burst through the door followed closely by the rest of the family.

"Goodness, I warned her to take care of this wound before she when into meditation. She is as stubborn as you lot, circumstances be damned" she complained as she tended to the woman. Hermione's body became pliant as Poppy administered a few potions and this agitated Harry.

"What's happening Madam Pomphrey?" he all but demanded.

She sighed and tuned to the distraught young man, "I gave her a sedative and a few pain potions, which will allow me to work. Now if you and the rest of your family would kindly leave the room, I would like to continue to work on Miss Granger" she said leaving no room for argument.

Several hours later, Poppy left but not before she had given the elves instructions for administering potions and tending to Hermione's wound. Harry had stayed in her room ever since and had not left. They family had finally told him of her instructions to leave her be until he was well. He was furious and she would definitely be getting a piece of his mind when she awoke.

He was overwhelmed with the anger and love. Anger that she would put herself in harm's way but this woman, _his woman_; had put her life on the line for him. His emotions were running high but what he did know was that he could never love her more than he did at that very moment.

It had taken great restraint not to climb into bed and just hold her in his arms and never let go, 'I'm beginning to sound more and more like Dan when he tries to romance Alexia' he thought slightly amused.

According to Sirius, his dad was a pompous ass; in fact, they all were except for Remus off course. When his mum gave him a stinker and called him out on his pathetic behavior, he took her words to heart and changed his personality. Eventually she fell in love with him and they married and started a family together. She was an intelligent witch with a bright future so when she started a family instead, it came as a shock to many. If his dad could change, so could he. Sure, he made changes for Hermione and he would do it again in heartbeat.

Sirius had been correct, she had been his saving grace. He was stuck in this life, constantly fooling himself that he did not need love to live his life. He could have any woman he wanted at any time but what was the point? He had time to re-access his life choices and he knew deep down he needed more, he craved it, she brought out these emotions and those seeded needs in him.

He was most definitely NOT emotionally unavailable. He wanted it all! the love, the passion, and a family to call his own. Yes, he wanted it all with the woman lying on the bed before him, which was why he asked her to be his wife. He spotted her ring lying on the bedside table, he gently caressed her hand slowly slipped it on her finger, where it belonged.

"Harry?" she moaned, and he quickly sat down on the bed beside her, gently caressing her face.

"I'm here love, I'm right here" he said kissing her ringed hand.

She frowned and gently opened her eyes. She looked around the room disoriented until her graze landed on him, "Harry" she gave him a soft smile. "You're here…. It worked" she mumbled, and he kissed her hand again.

"You are in a lot of trouble love" he chuckled when she looked at him incredulously.

"What do you mean?" she asked as she tried to sit up, Harry had helped her as he sat behind her so that her shoulder would not press up against the headboard.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked placing a kiss on her lips and she nodded.

"Good, Sirius told me what you did. It was utterly reckless and foolish" he started and when he saw her face fall, he smiled.

"And I thank you for it, I love you Hermione. If it had not been for you, I would have been dead. You came in like an angel but that is what you are, you're my angel aren't you?" he asked as he his hand gently cupped her head, their gazes blazing.

"I thought I had lost you Harry. I couldn't sit back and do nothing" she started, and he placed a finger on her lips.

"I need you to tell me everything that happened, but I need something else even more" he said as he kissed her. Tentatively at first, savoring them moment.

"I love you" they said in unison and the smiled brightly.

"I want to know more about this green godless that save my life" and her smile faltered.

"That's a life that I said goodbye to when we met in France" she started, and he frowned.

"What do you mean?"

She turned away from his gaze and focused on the duvet, "The Mage is not just a nom de plume Harry, I am a fully fledged Mage. What you had witness was the life I turned away from the night we first had sex. You see there is a coven in France, which I belonged to, It was known as the COVEN DE L'ÉLU (Coven of the Chosen). We worked independently, sort of like the Unspeakables here, except that it was just females and we were all pure" she whispered the last bit and Harry gasped.

"Hermione, you.." he started

"No Harry, I was done with the Coven. I did not agree with some of their tactics and there was no loss on my part when it was over. That night I had lost my position in the Coven and there were no regrets. There was a ceremony that I attended, and it was done. I no longer yield the privileges I did as a Mage; my staff was taken but the knowledge remains"

"Then, how did you?"

"Well when you were taken, the Ministry were pulling their feet, likely due to the moles. We worked closely with Amelia Bones, Sirius' girlfriend, did you know that?" she laughed, and Harry was amused. He knew Sirius had a flame for the woman, but he never expected anything to come of it.

"I digress, yeah so that tracking charms we installed on the brooms came in handy. You see the brooms were bought by a friend of yours at the Ministry and had given them to Voltaire. That added feature we included to channel magic lead us right to him. That part was easy, the difficulty to getting the Ministry to allow a rescue mission. Many were opposed to it Harry, and trust me after your abduction and rescue, the Ministry had been flushed. The rats were captured and tried.

Anyway, After the lack of help from the Ministry, I had to do something, and the only other option was going back to the Coven for help. It was no easy feat, but I eventually wore them down. With little time to spare I returned to England and with a few of Miss Bones most trusted recruits, we came to Voltaire's lair in Scotland. It was strange but I could sense your magic waning and I knew that we did not have much time left.

I blasted the walls and I put him out of his miserable existence. When I found you Harry, I could barely think straight, you had the faintest of pulses and we had to act fast. I let my guard down for a split second and I was hit with a blasting curse. I barely managed to get out of the way, hence the hole on my shoulder. We got you home and I had channeled my magic into yours, enough to sustain you until you were out of danger" she finished, and Harry couldn't believe his ears.

"I know it's a difficult to accept that I'm a cold blooded murderer and I fully understand if you want no part of me but you have to know that I would do it in a heartbeat. I love you Harry" she said as she removed the ring from her finger and placed it in his hand.

"That's bold of you to make such an assumption, isn't it?" he asked as he gently turned her hand in his.  
"Hermione, there is nothing that you can say or do that will ever make me let you go. I love you even more for what you did, and I will be a fool to let you walk away for something like that he. Now I believe Lady Potter, this belongs to you" he said as he slipped the ring back onto her finger.

"Harry" she tried to object but he was not having it.

"No, you don't have a choice in this matter. You will be my Lady Potter, we will do all those weird things couples do and then we will have a whole lot of little Potters; some with emerald eyes, some with brown eyes, and maybe even hazel eyes, who knows. Don't get me started on the hair" he said, and she was bawling at this point and gave a watery chuckle.

"Someone gave this a lot of thought" she teased.

"I had enough time to re-evaluate my life Hermione and when I put this ring on your finger the first time, I knew what I wanted. I am tired of being the old Harry Potter, I like this new me. Even if it entails PDF" they both chuckled.

"Unless you don't want to?" he said as the sobering thought crossed his mind.

"Off course not, I love you Harry. I was just scared you did not want to have anything to do with me and I could not have blamed you" she sighed, and he placed a kiss on her head.

"Good, so that settles that" he whispered gently cupping her face and placing the softest of kisses on her lips.

"Is this how it's going to be? Handling me as if I'm fragile?" she teased when the kiss was over, and he chuckled huskily.

"Never, in fact I think you deserved to be punished for hiding so much from me. I intend to do so once you are fully healed off course" he growled, and she was surprised to see the fire so blatant in his eyes.

"The Mage robe is straight out of Muggle fantasy and trust me when I say it's frighteningly easy to imagine doing all sorts of delicious things to your body" he continued, and she gulped audibly.

"It's a pity that I can't do those things with you in it" placing ghost touches her hand.

"Harry" she whispered and was about to turn in his arms.

"Not now and not here" he gritted out with difficulty and almost gave in when he saw the disappointment on her face.

"We are still recovering love and I wouldn't want to be given a talking to for behaving like randy teenagers by Madam Pomphrey. You could not imagine the torture we would receive from Sirius. I promise you the first night that you are cleared by Poppy, we will make the most passionate love yet in our bedroom" he said in sincerity and she smiled placing a kiss on his lips, thanking him.

"Now, are you ready to break Amanda's heart?" she teased, and he looked confused.

"Amanda? Why would you bring up that crazy bird now?" he asked.

"Well now that we are engaged, she's going to be livid. Stealing her 'Prince Charming', Probably try to curse me at Dan and 'Lex's wedding" she teased, and Harry rolled his eyes before laughing heartily.

"That's a load of horseshit and you know it. But you did bring up a valid matter. When do you want to inform the world that you are going to be the next Missus Potter? And are you happy to live here in Potter Manor? We could live anywhere you wished" he offered but she wasn't having any of it.

"I love it here and if Dan really doesn't want to live here then I would love for us to start our lives here. It's only fitting for a Potter to be here" and he nodded in agreement.

"That settles that, what about telling the world? I would prefer not to and just surprise them. It is not as if I owe them that. Just if our family and friends know then I am happy about it. What do you think? I understand if you want to announce to the world that you have landed the most eligible wizard in England, which I will gladly accept of course" he teased, and she laughed.

"See we are good for each other; privacy is what I value the most and I am more than happy to keep it that way. They can speculate all they want" she smiled, and he kissed her.

They did not have much time to enjoy each other's company afterwards, the elves returned to check-up on Hermione and naturally the family, including the Grangers had flooded the room. Harry did not leave Hermione's side, getting up only to allow the elves to tend to her wound and to greet the Grangers.

The family congratulated them on their engagement and respected their wishes to keep it within their family and friends.

They were interrupted by the Minister of Magic himself, Shacklebolt and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Miss Bones, offering their apologies and details of the case.

Miss Bones explained that the perpetrators were all captured and will be rotting in Azkaban for their rest of their pitiful existence. The shock that his ex-friend, Ronald Weasley, was one of the highest-ranking henchmen, was killed for resisting arrest and threatening to destroy Harry, sobered him. He knew the that the Weasley's were good people, especially Arthur.

He did not understand why their youngest children were the way they were. Ron had a fiery temper, insanely jealous and had an inferior complex to match. Ginny was not as bad but thought using love potions as her mother did to land Arthur was a good excuse to ensure a good future. It did not work out for though, she ended up getting pregnant in Hogwarts and flunked out. Last he heard the father of the child was still unknown and she now had four children, all fathered from different men.

"Harry are you okay?" he broke out of his pondering state when he heard Hermione's voice.

"Yeah, I am, it's just difficult to accept that it had to come down to this. I would like to visit Arthur and offer my condolences. He is a good man" he whispered, and they all agreed.

Harry noticed the surreptitious looks Sirius was giving Amelia and he had to bite down on his cheek not to burst out laughing. Hermione pinched him when he snorted and everyone looked him in surprise.

The weeks bled into each other and all too soon it was time for the wedding, Harry and Hermione seemed to have as much to do as the wedded couple. And apart from the wedding Hermione had agreed to extend the Silver Otter franchise to England. Harry had assisted, minimally as per Hermione's request to facilitate the move. It was a welcomed addition to both the Wizarding and Muggle world. The couple had an agreement that she would still consult as the Mage but only from the Manor, entirely from a safety point of view.

Harry had come out of shell a lot more, much to the delight of the rest of their family and friends. He and Hermione had grown and matured as a couple in the time that they had spent together. They were yet to go public with their relationship, but it did not matter as they spent most of their dates in the muggle world instead.

The meeting with the Weasley's went down as well as it could, apart from Ginny trying to chat Harry up but she was easily put in her place but a rather irate Harry.

"Babe, what are doing here? You were meant to be with Dan and Sirius at the chapel in Godric's" Hermione chastised when she found him zoned out staring into the garden from their balcony at Potter Manor.

"Hmm" he hummed paying her no mind

"What's gotten into you? You will be late?" she scolded, and he looked at her.

"We never really spoke about our wedding, just that it would happen after Dan's" he whispered, and she was taken aback by it.

"That's because we were caught up planning Dan's" she said placing a hand over his.

"I know that, but I have been thinking about it a lot lately and all I know is that I don't want it to be as busy as this. I mean when last have we had any time together. Have you even seen Dan and 'Lex, it seemed that they logged heads for the simplest of things and I honestly don't want that for us" he said earnestly, and she smiled at him.

"I agree and when we decide on the date, I assure you that it will be understated and elegant. I cannot go through with this madness again. I love you Harry and we are team. Whatever we do, it will be done that matches our personalities. I would even be happy to elope with you and get married in an isolated mountain top, but I am afraid of the consequences. My parents will probably disown me, and Sirius will not be as forgiving either" she explained, and he seemed pacified for the moment.

"Can I pick a date and you handle the rest?" he smirked as she rolled her eyes.

"In your dreams Potter"

Pulling her flush against him, "In my dreams, you're stark-naked with just your Mage hood, tied to our ceremonial bed and me having my way with you, over" he whispered "and over again. My seed taking root deep inside of you" he growled in her ear and she squeaked when he grasped her bum.

"I don't need a wedding to make you mine love, all I need is a weekend, some rope and a few potions to make sure you're up to it. How would you like Hermione?" he nipped her ear and she let out a breathily gasp nodding.

"Good but unfortunately you're right about our families disowning us without a wedding. So, I will have to wait until then. I really want to take you right now but we will be late for the wedding and we wouldn't want to leave a bad impression on their first day as husband and wife" he said gently releasing her giving her a chaste kiss in comparison to the words he just uttered.

Hermione nodded and they walked out hand in hand towards their portkey. She was not surprised at the rate at which her heart was beating. She and Harry had their share of passion, but he always surprised her in the bedroom. She loved that about him, he was so unpredictable and yet so amorous behind closed doors. He always teased her about impregnating her, something that they agreed they would wait for until they were both ready and would be very descriptive on how he would do it, but he would always ensure that they were safe. They had a beautiful relationship and she was without a doubt that they would have an equally beautiful marriage.

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